


Lonely Duets

by SarcasticGhost



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Post-Portal Incident, Pre-Portal Incident (Gravity Falls), Romace, Science, Slow Burn, some smut later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-10-15 20:44:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 46,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10557436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarcasticGhost/pseuds/SarcasticGhost
Summary: How Stanford Pines made me feel was an anomaly. I lived a life that was uncommon, you could say I myself was an anomaly. My mother sold herself on the streets, dumped me at orphanages and with "family friends" that seemed a lot more like strangers. I had spent most of my school and college life avoiding people, only ever bothering to send birthday cards and holiday greetings to Stanley over the years after he had taken care of me.So why did my heart ache to get to know Stanford Pines? Why did I spend countless hours of the night wondering if he had eaten enough? How was he feeling? When was the last time he slept? Is he as haunted as he looks? Does he blame himself? Does he notice me? Does he truly hate Stanley? Is he lonely? Does he notice me? Is he good at playing piano? How does it feel to hold his hand? Does he notice me?Does he notice me?





	1. An Unexpected Phonecall

I've always felt like I'm missing something. Sure, high school went fine, and college was accessible through scholarships and grants... but it was never fulfilling. I never felt like it was relevant, or I was taking important things away from it all. School was always just inconvenient, which is why I pushed to graduate early. UCLA was barely anything in my world-- it was long nights awake in labs doing work that didn't necessarily peak my interest, but I suppose no upstanding college ever would.

I've always been more interested in anomalies, in enigmas-- anything that's barely there long enough to make a physical impact, but drives the human mind wild with mystery. Stanley Pines was my first mystery. He came into my life like a hurricane, or rather-- I came into his.

My mother wasn't a very consistent woman, when she was around, she seemed more like a friend than a mother-- and when she was gone she seemed more like a stranger than a friend. I don't remember much from the night in the early 90's where she left me with a stranger, but I do remember being scared out of my mind. I was only 5 when my mom called a "family friend" to watch me while she went to Vegas for some "business". This was common, though more often then not, she simply left me at an orphanage when she had to run off again. She always came back for me, so I could never be too upset. This one time though, I was actually mad. 5 years old, and she left me with a man somewhere in his 30's, in a creepy shack, in a creepy town.

"You can't be serious, April," he had said. "I can't take care of myself, let alone a kid!"

"I'll pay you $600. It's just for a month, please, just watch her for a month." My mother begged. It was only for a month this time, that was rather unusual. "There's something I really need to take care of, and Vegas is the only place nearby I can. I swear I'm coming back, I'd never leave my child."

While I'm sure he had only accepted because there was an upfront payment, I was a bit relieved that the man with the mullet agreed to watch over me. I hated the orphanages, it wasn't even a sense of hopelessness, it was just the feeling of the hopelessness around me. I don't do well with heavy emotions, and those places were always full of them.

"I'll be back really soon, okay Katherine? Be nice to Stan, he's promised to treat my angel well." And she left just as swiftly as she always does.

Stanley Pines seemed as equally confused by me as I was by him. Perhaps it was because my 5 year old self simply let out a sigh and sat on the floor, digging out a small diary from my backpack and jotting some things down.

"You... alright, kid?" He asked.

"My name is Katherine Bishop, not 'kid'." I write the date in the top corner of the page, writing down vague details of where I was and who I was with.

"Uhm," The man scratched the back of his head. "Do you wanna.. watch some tv or something?"

I look up at the man, oddly perplexed by this question. Did he really not understand what kind of girl I was?

"Where will I be sleeping?" I ask, placing my journal back in my bag. Stanley rubs his chin for a moment.

"I think..." He sighs, and begins walking through the front of the home, gesturing me to follow after him. I pick up my bag and pad along at his feet, confused by the look on his face as he opens a door for me. When he flicks on the lights, I almost think this is a joke.

"Is this your room?"

"What? No!" He looks around for a moment. "It's uh... my study."

"You have a study room with a bed in it?" I raise an eyebrow.

"I stay up pretty late studying sometimes. Now quit asking stuff, get comfortable." He crosses his arms, and I take a few more steps into the room. There's a large blue shag carpet in the middle of the room, a bed in the far left hand corner, and every other available bit of wall space is taken up by bookshelves and a desk. I place my bag down and approach one of the bookshelves, reaching up for a book labeled 'Oregon's Ghosts'. "Woah, woah! Kid, what do you think you're doing?" Stan rushes up to me and blocks the bookshelf.

"Reading a book?"

"Why the heck would you do that?"

I stare at him, trying to figure out whether or not he's joking.

"Because I like to read?"

"This is a little out of your reading level, don't you think?" He chuckles, flipping through a few pages.

"I want to make something abundantly clear, sir." I can feel myself glaring at this man, a bit unintentional, but I think my body is trying to make myself look intimidating. "I am five years old and I've already skipped two grades. I spend my time reading and writing, not watching tv. My mother has just left me for the 43rd time, and I would like to sit down in this strange room and read a book about strange things. You may either hand me that book, or deal with me being a grumpy monster for the month that I am here-- and I certainly suggest doing the latter, because you have no idea what I am capable of."

And in that moment, I was rather proud of myself. I intimidated myself there, and the look on Stan's face said I intimidated him, too. Or, so I thought.

"You're odd. I like you, kid." He pats me on the head and hands me the book I had been reaching for.

"I said my name is Katherine!" I pout, snatching the book from his hands.

"Well, Katherine, I guess you can read as much as you want. Just try not to break anything." He walks towards the door.

"Breaking a book would be the ultimate crime." I shiver. "I'd never." I hug the mystery book tightly, earning a smile from Stanley as he exits the room.

"I'm just down the hall if you need anything."

"Yes sir." I respond.

"My name is Stan Pines." He mocks me, but I can tell he is being light hearted. I would call him Stan, and he would call me Katherine. That's how it works.

"Goodnight, Stanley."

"Just Stan." He begins to shut the door, but I can see a frown on his face through the crack that's left open. Perhaps I was a burden. I was only 5. I had no idea what was really going on, but after that first night, things went rather well in the home I took up at the Mystery Shack. I spent my days learning how to run a business from Stan, and I spent the nights teaching Stan all I learned from the books on the walls. Based off of how interested he was, I had always known the books weren't his. I never questioned it though, that room always seemed to make him sad.

The truth behind it all was I was overly fond of my babysitter, he was much more kind and much more empathetic than any caretaker I had ever had before. Dare I say it, he was a better friend to me than my own mother tried to be. As pathetic as it was, I cried when I had to leave. I never even cried when my mom left.

He wasn't in my life long enough to become a huge part of my life, but my time at the mystery shack dug deep into my heart. I'd spend my entire life reminiscing, sending Stan cards every holiday, and researching the things I learned from the books at the shack.

I loved Gravity Falls. I loved Stanley Pines. I loved the only place I ever called my home.

But for some reason, I never went back. Not until after college, anyways. Not until Stan called, 21 years later, asking for my help.

~-~-~-~-~

"Katherine?" His voice on the phone made my heart skip. How I had missed him. His letters were always nice, but they weren't the same as actually hearing him.

"Stan, h-hi." I feel myself breaking out into a smile. "It's been so long."

"No kidding. Listen, kid--"

"Katherine." I correct. I can hear Stan sigh.

"Katherine, I have a small favor to ask."

"Anything." I respond, sitting down at the table in my apartment. It was sunny and hot in Los Angeles this summer. I hated it.

"Come to Gravity Falls."

"...what?"

"I need you to come to Gravity Falls. You're the only person I know who can help."

"Stan, are you in jail again?" I ask nervously.

"What?! No, No this has to do with... science and stuff, and I know that you're the only one who will actually understand all this junk!" I take a deep breath, my coffee pot finally done filling up across the room.

"When?"

"As soon as you can."

~-~-~-~-~


	2. It's Kat, Not Kid

~-~-~-~-~

I had always been good with money. I took personal finance when I was 12, and since then learned how to budget money, for both my mother and myself. Apparently, in her time in Vegas, my mom started a college fund for me, totaling 18 grand by the time I actually left for school. Being as young as I was, I wound up getting my entire bill for UCLA paid. They even kept me around after to do some research, and I wound up getting two more degrees in the extra time.

Now, 26 and confused, I've sold my apartment and taken a plane to Oregon, where I hopped on a bus headed for Gravity Falls. The sad thing about this place, is it hasn't aged at all since I was 5. However, the people here have.

Stan Pines was still an oddly attractive man, his crisp black suit and bolo tie were actually quite slimming, and it was apparent to see that the muscles he earned from his early years were still prominent in his arms.

Certainly prominent when we hugged.

"Thanks for coming." He whispers, and it's sincere. And it's warm. And I've missed him.

"How could I say no?" We pull away, and I feel myself smiling. "When did you get glasses, Stan?"

"I don't want to talk about that right now, there's some more important things to take care of." Stan reaches out his hand for me to take, but then retracts it. "When did you... grow up?" He looks me up and down and I can't help but give him a sympathetic laugh.

"It's been 21 years, Stan... What did you expect?" He pulls on his collar for a moment.

"You're just a complete doll now, the kids are going to assume things..."

"Kids?" My eyes widen. "You had kids?!"

"No! Noooo!" Stan lets out a sigh and links arms with me. "Look, lets just go inside, and I'll explain everything."

Everything inside the shack seemed different. The front room was now a gift shop, there was a door that I didn't remember to the right that led to a 'room of mysteries', or at least that's what the sign said. The living room had a curtain for a door, I'm assuming to try to deter people from going in it. Was this what he meant when he talked about expanding his business?

"Grunkle Stan! Can I have Grenda and Candy over tonight?" A young girl bounds in through the living room, stopping dead in her tracks with a loud gasp as she sees me attached to Stan's arm. "Oh...my...god."

"Mabel! Uh, this is uh.. Not what-"

"I'm Katherine. I've known Stan for a long time." I give her a wide smile. She cups her hands together.

"Hi! I'm Mabel, are you and Grunkle Stan on a date?"

"Grunkle?" I ask.

"Date!?" Stan sputters out.

"Great-uncle. Grunkle."

"Oh." I give an approving nod.

"It's not a date. She's going to be spending some time with us here, to help with uh... business."

Mabel wiggles her eyebrows. "Suuuure, she is." She giggles and I roll my eyes. Kids. "Anyways, I'm taking the sleepover as a yes, since you get to have a sleepover." Mabel runs off and Stan removes his arm from me to rub the bridge of his nose and sigh.

"A niece and nephew, huh?" My mouth twitches into a smile. "I didn't even know you had a sibling."

"That's kind of what I need you here for." Stan walks into the living room, glancing around to make sure no one else is around. "Listen, everything I'm going to tell you today... you can't tell the kids. You can't tell anyone. Can you promise me that?"

And for the first time in a long time, Stan was serious. He wore a look on his face very similar to the night I saw him frowning through the crack in the door. Something weighed heavy on his chest, something big.

"I promise." Stan let out a breath of relief and gestured for me to sit on the couch. Things are silent for a minute, and I'm not sure how to take seeing him like this. He doesn't deserve whatever is plaguing him, he shouldn't ever look this unhappy.

"This place belongs to my brother." He admits quietly as he sits down. This was odd to me, because I had never met or even heard of a brother until now.

"That explains the kids I guess..." I whisper.

"It doesn't, though." He sighs, pulling out his wallet. He hands me a small photograph of two young boys on the beach. "The one in the striped shirt is me..." I smile at the picture, a younger Stan with his arm wrapped tightly around someone who is clearly his brother. He had a twin, all this time, and I never even knew. "The one in the brown jacket is Stanford... my twin brother." He pulls out another photo and hands it to me. This is another brown haired boy, "And this is Shermie, Mabel and Dipper's grandfather."

"Wait.. so whose house am I in right now?" I ask, handing him back the photos.

"Stanford's."

"...Well, can I at least meet him?" I look around the room, searching for any other family photos that might indicate who this mysterious twin is.

"That's what you're here for." He takes a deep breath, rising from his seat and holding out a hand to help me up. "I need you to help me get him back."

"Back? From where?" Without another word, he leads me back to the front room, glances left and right, and enters a code into his vending machine, revealing a secret staircase to the basement. I'm wary, but I follow him downstairs nonetheless. For all I know, he could be taking me to a secret torture chamber. He could've gone utterly mad in the time I haven't been around. Everything was so mysterious... but I suppose that was what I loved the most.

We step through a door into a study, things are mostly covered up with sheets, but what is visible is a large operating station, with a glass window into a large cave. There's a giant triangular structure in the center, and a second operating station off to the side.

"What is all this?" I say quietly, absolutely in awe. Had Stanley done all this himself? Had this always been down here?

"This was Stanford's life's work." He pushes a computer chair into my knees so I sit down, and what I'm looking at on the desk in front of me is absolutely perplexing. Each algorithm, perfectly solved and proved, for a theory of traveling through time and space.. to alternate dimensions. I had heard a few people give TED talks about this sort of thing, but to think that someone actually solved it... and it's been here all this time? Impossible.

"Where is your brother, Stan?" I look up to him, and he's facing the large triangle structure. He's glaring at it through the window.

"He's wherever that portal sent him." I look at the structure again, slapping myself mentally for not seeing it sooner. Each marking on the inner circle of the portal was a star, each star the closest to the different theoretical black holes. But I guess, they weren't really theoretical anymore.

"Can you turn it on?" I ask, flipping the page in one of the books the formulas were on to reveal a rather large layout of the machine. I flip each book one page over, staring at the result. It was beautiful. Thought to be impossible.

"I was going to ask you that." He responds. I search desperately through the pages to find the power source for this machine. The Caesar-style cipher is easy for me to decode in my head, and when my eyes stumble upon a radioactive element, I know that this task is going to be a lot harder than Stan could ever imagine.

"I don't suppose your brother had some extra Uranium laying around?" Stan's eyes widen and I clear my throat. "It's just.. uh.. well, he runs this thing on nuclear fission. I need uranium pellets for that... I'm assuming the ones in the machine right now eroded, or got acid on them and dissolved."

"Dammit." Stan mutters, closing his eyes and leaning on the desk. This was apparently not what he wanted to hear. "Is that all that we need?" He asks after a few minutes.

"As far as I can tell... yes."

He rises up again and glares at the machine. "Then I'll find a way." He beings to head to the door and I stand up from the chair rather abruptly, gaining his attention.

"Stanley."

"Stan."

I close my gaping mouth and give a small nod. "We'll get him back." His shoulders relax a little, and Stan gives me a smile I almost don't recognize.

"I know we will." He holds out his hand again. "C'mon, let's take you back to your room."

~-~-~-~-~-~

"So... all this time.. this wasn't a study at all, was it?" I look around the room I stayed in over 20 years ago. The carpet was rolled up and leaning against the wall, but otherwise the room remained untouched.

"...Ford's room." Stan answers, rubbing a hand over the dresser against the wall.

"I always wondered why you seemed so sad about me being in here." I run my fingers over the books on the shelved, caked with dust from so much time unused. "You know, when no one reads them, books kind of lose their purpose." I pull the same book from the shelf that I had first picked out 21 years ago. "I think, seeing the great condition these are in, your brother would be happier knowing someone is appreciating them." I hug the book tightly to my chest, giving Stan a smile that I know will lift the frown from his face.

He chuckles, shaking his head a little at me. "You remind me of him sometimes." He sighs and leans on the wall. "I can't wait for you to meet him..."

I scan over the bookshelf again, my heart racing at all the titles. Everything from anomalies to enigmas to supernatural tales from the past. Stanford Pines was a mystery. "Me too." I place the book down on the bed and grab my wallet out of my purse. "So, I figured... this time, for babysitting me, I'll double what my mom gave you."

"What? No, Katherine, I asked you to come here." Stan holds up his hand, and I give a small smile, placing the money in his hand and holding it there.

"And now I'm asking you to take me out." He simply stares at me, and I give a small shrug. "It's my first night here.. show me the town."

"You want to go on a date with me?" He asks, trying to clarify, but I take advantage of the moment.

"I thought you'd never ask."

~-~-~-~-~-~-~


	3. Uptown Girl

"I knew it." I hear Mabel whisper to her friends. She peeks around the corner from the top of the stairs and giggles. "Stan IS going on a date."

"That kid is going to be the death of me." I let out a laugh and place a hand on Stan's shoulder.

"Give her a break, also-- give yourself a break. Let's go out and catch up, stop thinking it has to insinuate anything." He gives a relaxed smile and opens the front door for me.

"It's been a while since I've had some real fun, I don't know what I'm so nervous about." He chuckles and follows me out to the car, hustling to open the door to the 'Stanleymobile' for me as well.

"Being this much of a gentleman will surely reap the benefits anyways." I giggle as he straightens his tie.

"Careful what you say, toots. I could take that as the green light." He winks as he climbs in and buckles himself up. I bite my lip, feverishly embarrassed but also loving this talk.

"Well, it certainly wasn't a red light."

"What happened to the little girl I used to babysit?"

"She grew up." I laugh, enjoying the crisp summer air flowing in through the windows.

"How old are you now, exactly?"

"26."

"Enjoy your twenties, they fade away so fast."

"Yeah, I've noticed." I let out a small sigh and lean on the arm rest. "It feels like everything up until now was just a big blur."

"You don't remember anything?"

"No, not like that. It's just..." I pick at my nails. Way to kill the mood. "I spent a long time being bored. Grade school was nothing, college was nothing. There wasn't ever a challenge, there wasn't ever anything to hold my attention. The only time I ever seemed to be happy was when I was on my own."

"It can't have been all bad, you seemed pretty happy when you were kicking back with me." Stan reassures, and I feel a small smile curl onto my lips as I look up at him.

"That's true. I was always happy when it came to you."

"You sure do like to make a guy blush, eh?" Stan removes a hand from the wheel to slide it back through his hair. "Alright, this is the best place in town." I step out and stare up at the rather large lit up sign that read 'Poseidon's Domain'. An aquatic themed restaurant? This was new.

"Things seem so different in this town now." I link my arm through Stan's and we walk inside the building.

"Nah," He smirks at me "I think you're just finally looking at it with open eyes." He approaches the hostess and she walks us over to a private table in a raised alcove of the restaurant. There's white curtains that are drawn back, that look like they can be easily shut at any time. Tempting. I take a seat across from Stan and the hostess leaves us with menus to look at. "Yeesh, I think I'm kind of regretting coming here. 20 bucks for a salmon? I could probably catch one bigger than they serve here!"

I let out a small laugh "I'd like to see you try!" I take a deep breath, "Let's just relax and enjoy this, even if it's only once." The waiter approaches our table, and before Stan can speak up I order a bottle of red moscato.

"I am not gonna take care of your drunk ass at the end of the night." He gives me a stern point of his finger and I simply wink.

"Wouldn't be the first time you've gotten me into pajamas and tucked me in. What's so wrong about it now?"

"I didn't call you down here to babysit you for another month, Kat."

"Fine," I take a deep breath, a bit put off that he's suddenly taken on a serious tone. "Tell me about Stanford."

"Could you do me a favor?" Stan glances around suspiciously. "Just, when we're not alone... could you just call him sixer? I know I'm asking a lot but... Well, I've been living his life for nearly 30 years now, I can't have people suspect things when I'm so close to getting him back."

His furrowed brows are serious, and I know this isn't something to dance around or tease him about, so I choose to just nod. Stan lets out a sigh of relief at this.

"Sixer is the smartest man I've ever had the pleasure of knowing." The waiter arrives with our wine, and there's a silence as he uncorks the bottle, pours us some glasses, and retreats. "We were as tight as it gets when we were younger. Inseparable."

"What happened?" There's a heavy look in Stan's eyes. His shoulders slouch, and it's apparent he's still feeling guilty for whatever it is. All I can do is reach a hand out and place it on top of his. "Hey... you know my opinion of you wouldn't change. Not with all the history we have."

"I've seen otherwise."

"- Well stop assuming I'm like that." I squeeze his hand tightly. "I didn't come all the way to Oregon to get mad at you and leave. I came here to help you, and I won't leave until I do."

He looks a little relieved, and his thumb strokes the top of my knuckles. It takes everything I have not to shiver.

"In our senior year of high school, Ford was... getting a lot of opportunities I'd never be able to have. Every school wanted him, he was the dream student. Where I wanted to sail the seas searching for treasure, Ford wanted to go to Ivy Leagues and study monsters and junk."

"Have we decided on anything tonight?" The waiter's interruption irritates us both, and I slide the menus to the end of the table.

"The lemon and garlic salmon sounds lovely." I respond, and Stan holds up two fingers signifying he'd like the same. As the waiter leaves again, I roll my eyes and return my attention back to Stan. "Sorry, you can continue..."

Stan lifts a hand to rub the back of his neck. "I wasn't really, as supportive as I should have been. Ford had one chance at making it into the big schools and I really screwed it up for him. Pops never forgave me for it, and neither did Ford."

"But you still want to get him out of the portal?" I ask, and Stan looks at me like I have a second head.

"Of course I do, he's my brother." Stan removes his hand from under mine and plays with the napkin on the edge of the table. "Look, I messed up. And, the one time I really thought Ford and I had a chance of making up, I messed up again, and he fell into that portal."

Oh.

"Even if he doesn't forgive me, even now, It's still my fault. I need to get him back."

And a million things go through my mind, like-- How do we even know Stanford is still alive? Even if he was, how would he separate our dimension from another? Would he even be able to find the portal? I barely understand how this math works, who's to say Stanford truly did? What if he didn't go into a portal at all? What if he just disintegrated? How am I supposed to help? How am I supposed to find this man and bring him back?

But what I say is, "I promise I won't leave until he's home safe."

The relief that washes over his face makes my heart flutter, and he gives me a genuine smile, lifting up his wine glass.

"Cheers to that."

"Cheers." I laugh, tipping my glass to his and letting the smooth wine cool my burning temperature. "So, I have a question."

"Shoot." Stan replies, taking a sip of his own glass afterwards.

"What will you do when he's back?"

This question seems to perplex Stan, like he had never actually thought of it before.

"I guess.. apologize, and try to... try to go back to being as close as used to be."

"Yeah but... if that house is his, where will you go?"

Stan lets out a small chuckle, his eyes half lidded and making my stomach drop.

"I've always done fine on my own."

"Stay with me." I say, maybe a bit more quickly than I should have.

"What?"

"You could always... stay with me." I clear my throat, choosing to fiddle with my wine glass rather than look him in the eyes. "I mean, I live alone anyways, a-and I've always been really happy to be with you so.. you could live with me, if--..."

"If my brother doesn't forgive me?"

And suddenly I feel like the biggest jerk in the world.

"y-...yeah." I let out a sigh of defeat, and just as I'm about to lower my head into my hands, Stan erupts into a deep laugh that picks me back up from my lowest point.

He takes a deep breath once he finishes laughing and returns his hand to the top of mine. The way he looks at me in this moment makes my head spin, and I'm very tempted to leap across the table and show him just how grown up I really am, but when he speaks, such light and soft words so unlike him-- it soothes me.

"Thank you."

And the waiter returns with our meals, causing our hands to slowly slide apart despite all the world's gravity trying to prevent me from doing so.

I still very stupidly loved Stanley Pines.

~-~-~-~-~

"Welcome back, lovebirds. Did you crazy kids have a good time?" Mabel giggles with her friends as we enter back into the house. We'd keep the wine a secret, we'd keep everything a secret.

"Stan was a perfect gentleman, Mrs. Pines, you should be proud of your son." I give Mable a wink and Stanley rolls his eyes with an annoyed grunt.

"Play your cards right and YOU could be Mrs. Pines."

"In your dreams, kid." Stan heads off to his room, and I let out an elongated sigh. Which 'kid' was he referring to?

"It's okay, Kat. Love takes time." Mabel takes my hand softly and pats it. "Wanna come play Truth or Dare with us?"

"I'm actually still not feeling that great from the plane ride over," or you know, the wine. "I think I'll pass this time, but next time? Definitely. I promise you."

"Eeee! I'll hold you to that, Goodnight Kat!" I watch the girl and her friends scurry upstairs and envy them a little. I've never been one to hold friendships, but there's something about Mabel, especially with how quickly she accepted me, that leads me to believe she'll grow to be a dear friend of mine.

I take a deep breath and retreat to the room that is now mine, and was once mine, but was also not once mine.

I don't really know much about Stanford Pines. I know he's Stanley's twin, I know that he's one of the smartest men to walk foot on this earth, I know he has six fingers. I know he hates Stanley, I know he got lost in multiple other dimensions... and I know that just the thought of him terrifies me a little bit. But I also know he's intriguing, and that I've found the traces of him intriguing since I lived in this house 20-some-odd years ago. I know that I'm going to bring him back, and I know that when I do, I wont be expected to stay here any longer. I know I might go another 20 some odd years after that without seeing Stanley. And I know that terrifies me, too.

"Let's see... I never knew how to work these things when I was five..." I blow some dust off the top of a turntable and look over the shelf above the bed. My eyes scan through multiple records, recognizing but not necessarily ever having listened to a number of the bands. I reach for one my mother and I used to listen to and sing together, and place the 45 on the turntable.

"Wouldn't take you for the hippie type." A voice comes from the doorway. Stan has taken off his tie and jacket, leaving him in a tight crisp white collared shirt.

"I used to love the bee gees, actually. It's been a long time since I've listened to them."

"Decide to help yourself to Ford's old records, too?"

"What's the point of a personal collection if it's never appreciated?" I stare at the turntable for a moment before giggling to myself. "I'm trying to imagine someone who looks just like you swaying to this while messing with uranium."

"He didn't look EXACTLY like me. He never had a mullet." The way Stan says mullet, almost like he resents it, makes me giggle even more.

"I bet you're still the more handsome twin."

"That's a given." Stan walks over to the record collection, pulling one vinyl off the shelf that's dust cover is actually free of dust. "I think you'll like this one a lot better."

He hands the vinyl to me and heads out the door, catching his hand on the doorway and stopping himself to give me a smile. "G'night, Kat."

"Goodnight Stan... thanks for the date." He gives me a wink before leaving me. I stare down at the vinyl, who even WAS Billy Joel? That's sort of just a pop culture name that I always heard but never really took the time to figure out who it was. I pull the vinyl from the sleeve and replace the bee gees record with it, setting down the needle and enjoying the happy beat that begins to play. I retreat back to the shelf and put the bee gees album back in its spot, dancing my way back to the middle of the room. I wiggle a bit to the beat, a stupid grin on my face. Stan was right, I did like it better.

By the time the second chorus kicks in, I'm singing whatever words I can remember. Was this the wine, or was I just really this happy?

"Ahem." A throat being cleared in the doorway catches me off guard, and I nearly jump out of my skin. A small kid, presumably Mable's brother, seeing as they look nearly identical, and Stanley stand, eyebrows raised. The boy looks confused, Stan just looks amused.

"I caught him in the hallway and thought it might be a good idea to introduce him to the stranger in the house."

"Fair enough." I clear my throat, standing up straight, a blush very prominent and heated on my face. "I'm Katherine Bishop."

"I'm Dipper." Stan gives the boy a nudge. "Uh, Grunkle Stan said you like ghosts and stuff?" He scratches the back of his head. Poor shy kid.

"Like? I love them! I did a lot of studying on paranormal stuff when I was in college, if I could've majored in it, I so would have!" The way Dipper lights up at this news, the way he smiles and how bright his eyes are, I can also see him and I becoming very close in my time here as well.

"Anyways, let's let the uptown girl sleep." He pats Dipper on the back again, giving me a smirk before closing the door behind them. I let out a sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. Just as I was trying to convince him I wasn't a kid anymore, good going, Katherine.

At least my jazz steps were on point.

~-~-~-~


	4. Full Power

~-~-~-~

"Katherine, wake up."

I've always been a light sleeper. I've also always been terrified when I wake up suddenly. I wasn't graceful, and I certainly didn't wake up in a dignified manner. I gasp, loudly, and throw my body up off the pillows.

The world was terrifying.

The man waking me up was not.

"Jeez, kid, can you cool it? I just need you to come downstairs." Stanley hushes me, I choose to ignore him calling me 'kid' again to glance at my alarm clock.

"Stanley, it's 3 am."

"This is important." He assures me, before heading out the door.

"It damn well better be." I mumble, ripping off the blankets and following him downstairs. He leads me to the vending machine again, and now it's safe for me to assume it's about Ford. I suppose I should get used to working at night, keeping this a secret from his niece and nephew was not going to be an easy task.

We head down the stairs and into the lab area. Stan gestures to the window and I nearly choke on air as I peek in. There was at least six barrels of radioactive chemicals in the room with the portal machine.

"Stan," I start, but he holds a finger up.

"I found it."

"Stan." I say, a bit more firm, and he yanks on his collar.

"I acquired it." I let out a sigh. I knew exactly what that meant.

"If I get arrested--"

"--You wont." He sighs, looking back to the window. "Is it enough?" Well, it was WAY more than enough to be honest, but if the machine hasn't been started in nearly thirty years, then I suppose the extra wouldn't hurt to give it a jumpstart. "Can you turn it on?" He asks again. I look to him, his eyes wide and desperate and all I wish for is to have him go to bed.

"Yeah. Just need to put it in the core." I lift a hand to my chin. "Let's just try a small amount to start, though. I want to make sure it reacts okay before we do the full mission."

"Just tell me what to do." He furrows his brow, and I know this would be a few extra hours up than what he wanted, but there was no way he'd sleep now. I point to the suits hanging up on the wall, the only things that could protect us from the radiation.

As I grab a suit, I can't help but notice that the one Stanley is grabbing has 6 fingers on each hand--clearly Ford's... but mine just has 5.

"Did Ford have a partner?" I ask as I slide on the yellow lead suit.

"At some point... he was well gone by the time I showed up." I give a slow nod in response to this. It's interesting to me that there was barely a sign of a partner anywhere in this lab. I suppose they could have ended on bad terms, which would explain why he left before Stanley came back... or, I suppose he could've been lost to the portal as well, and Ford could've felt guilty. Either way, I didn't even want to think about whose suit I was wearing.

It took about an hour to accurately move the uranium and safely place it in the machine. I did a double check that everything was still in place, the no screw was loose and there was no radiation leaking anywhere. My heart was beating faster and faster every step, praying to any god that was listening that I wouldn't let Stan down. I was incredibly stressed out, but I left no room for error.

"Let's do a remote start from the computer, just in case any radiation leaks out." I give a nod to Stan and he follows me back into the lab, where we take the suits off.

"You're pretty paranoid." He chuckles, and I roll my eyes. It's not like I'm under an enormous amount of pressure or anything. I boot up the computer, still advanced for it's time.. but.

"Man this thing is--" Stan narrows his eyes at me, and I cough into my hand. Couldn't say 'ancient'. Have to settle for "--dusty." The computer boots, much to my surprise. It's one function is to control the portal, so it didn't take long to dig through the journals to find the launch sequence and input all the commands in. All that was left was to hit enter.

I just couldn't do it. Something in me was begging myself not to start it. Was I afraid? Was it the fear of letting Stan down? Or was it the words at the bottom of the journal that spoke of the imminent destruction of the earth if the portal was left on for too long? Was I going to create genocide? What if something else came through the portal?

"Got it." Stan reaches over and pushes down my hand that rested on the enter key. I couldn't even be mad with the forgiving look he offers me. There's a rumbling, like a short earthquake. And then another. Things start to fall off the desks, and I begin to fear we've made a terrible mistake.

The portal sparks a bright blue light. Each rumble causes another spark, before finally... it glows to life. It feels like a huge weight has come off my shoulders, and for a minute I thought it was relief-- don't be mistaken. This portal caused a black hole, essentially- fucking up the gravity in the entire area.

Stan is the first to step into the other room, a proud smile on his face as he steps up to the portal.

"Thirty long years, and it's all led up to this." He spins around to give me a broad smile. "My greatest achievement!"

"Excuse me?"

"Our greatest achievement!" He corrects himself before spinning back around. The portal lets out another large lightning bolt spark, zapping at Stan and lighting some of his arm hair on fire. "Feisty," He chuckles. "I like it."

"What's next?" I ask, and Stan grabs my arm, leading me back to the computer.

"From what I can tell, Ford created a computer that scans through all the dimensions the portal can access. We leave it on and searching until it finds a human-- that's got to be him." He crosses his arms. "From there, he either finds the portal and comes out--- or I go get him."

"I don't know if--"

"If I finally pull this off... it'll all have been worth it." He sighs. "All the lies, the secrets... If I don't play it cool, I could lose everything."

There's a look of desperation as he glances to the picture of Mabel and Dipper on the desk. It must hurt, having to lie in all the ways he has. He must hold a lot of guilt... but that wasn't something he'd ever have to bare alone.

"Hey," I whisper, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You know I'd help you cover your tracks in a heartbeat... Once we find Ford, then we'll explain. For now, all we can do is work."

Stanley is quiet, but only for a moment. He grabs a switch on the wall and yanks it down. When he removes his hand, I see that it reads 'full power'.

"Woah! Stan, if you're going to do that we need to go put more uranium in! We need to shut down first."

"Tomorrow night, we'll do that tomorrow night. Just... give me this. For now."

I stare at him for a little bit, he watches the printer deliver readings in binary code. Does he even know binary? He lets out a yawn before I bring both my arms around his shoulders in a tight hug.

"Do me a favor?" I ask quietly.

"What's up?" He grumbles back.

"Go to bed."

"Not gonna happen."

"I'm gonna stay up. Make me a coffee then go get some rest." He doesn't move, and I place a kiss on his cheek. "Please."

"Promise you'll watch it?" He whispers after a few minutes.

"Pinky swear. Just need some caffeine." I pat his shoulders. "Get up. C'mon." Stanley rises from his chair, stretching before heading upstairs. I sit down and watch the screens, it was a very elaborate system. There were, supposedly, an infinite amount of dimensions, though. An infinite amount of parallel worlds-- It could take forever to find Ford. We may never find him at all. That's terrifying.

The quiet beeps of the machine make me feel like I'm in a hospital, so I pull out my phone and go through my music before settling on a playlist that would help me relax. I lean back in the chair, placing my feet up on the desk. I nearly crawl out of my skin as a coffee cup appears in my eyesight. I look up to a tired Stan, offering me a smile. I take the cup and sit up a bit. "Thanks," I say quietly. "This should be enough to keep me up for a while."

"You sure you want me to go to bed? I could stay up-"

"Nah, I've got it. I'd rather you go get some rest. You look tired." I take a sip of my coffee and let out a content sigh. The warm liquid always made me feel disgusting, but it certainly worked at keeping me awake.

"Guess you're the one looking out for me now, huh?"

I spin in my chair, turning to face the man with a tiny smirk on my face. "Finally admitting I grew up, are we?"

He chuckles, raising an eyebrow "Admitting and accepting are two very different things, you know." I roll my eyes.

"Someday, Stanley, you're going to realize just exactly how womanly I am, and you will regret ever calling me 'kid'." I feel his arm wrap around my neck, yanking me up to him. His lips rest atop my head. He laughs as he pulls away and exits the room.

"Sure I will, kid."

~-~-~-~-~-~


	5. Purposeful Mistake

I didn't get a call from Stanley until 6:30 am. He instructed me to turn down the power to the lowest setting I could, and then come upstairs and get ready for the re-opening of "The Mystery Shack", which turned out to be the business he ran. It took a while for me to be able to pull myself out of the shower, I was very tired and though my heart ran a mile a minute from the coffee still in my system (I refuse to disclose how much I drank), I could barely keep my eyes open when it came to the blanket of warmth that the hot shower offered.

As much as it embarrasses me to admit, I spent the whole night reading the journals written by Stan's brother. I was very intrigued at everything the man had discovered in the time he spent here, and all the research he did to try and find answers to every mystery imaginable. I had no idea the legitimacy of everything written, but the portal alone was enough to make me believe that Stanford Pines was certainly intelligent enough to have actually found and documented all these claims.

The more and more I learned about Stanford Pines, the more determined I became to get him back. He apparently found everything I had ever dreamed of finding, documented things I didn't even know existed and managed to depict creatures in such beautiful graphite drawings that I envied everything about him. He was plaguing my mind this morning. What did he look like now? Would he still be identical to Stanley?

"--And make sure to stop by the after party tonight at 8!"

Stan's voice shocked me out of my daze. After Party? We'd really be having a party at the Mystery Shack? With the portal operating? Clearly we needed to have a talk about this.

As people shuffled out of the Mystery Shack, I approached Stan and the twins, hoping the kids would leave shortly.

"Hey, Stan-- Now that we have a moment," Dipper starts nervously, looking down trodden "I've been meaning to ask you for my journal back."

"Journal?" He pats himself a few times before laughing. "Oh, haha, you mean this old thing!" He reaches under the bookshelf and pulls out the third journal. I was so sure I had it downstairs all morning, how the hell did it get there? "It was so boring, I couldn't even finish it!"

"Wait, you're... just going to give it to me, just like that?"

"YEAH STAN," I clear my throat, trying to calm my temper "Uh, didn't you take it away for a reason?" I bullshit. I have no idea what's going on, but I know I still needed that journal. Stan gives me a quick wink, and I can only imagine what the fuck he did.

"What else did you want, a kiss on the cheek?"

"I gotta go!" Dipper cries, dragging his sister out of the room behind him. I lift up a fist and punch Stan in the shoulder.

"Hey!" He cries.

"What the fuck, Stan? First, I NEED THAT THING-- Second, a party? No part of you thinks this is a bad idea?" He flicks my nose roughly.

"First of all, do you think I'm dumb? Do I look dumb to you? I made copies. They're downstairs. SECONDLY-- I need something to make the fuzz think there's nothing suspicious happening, alright? Keep up public appearances, stay innocent."

"We're so going to get arrested." I groan.

"Hey Mr. Pines! What's that code word I'm supposed to yell when I see a government vehicle?" I had been introduced to Soos earlier this morning, when my brain was barely functioning right after my hot shower.

"Government vehicle?"

"So arrested." I put my face in my hands. Stan runs to the opposite side of the room and hits the button the the PA system.

"The Mystery Shack is now closed-- EVERYBODY OUT. I will not hesitate to use the hose on the elderly!" I feel my knees shake just a tiny bit.

We stole radioactive chemicals. Sure, I was certified to use it in one location back at my college, but not here, and certainly not stolen radioactive chemicals. I WOULD NOT SURVIVE IN JAIL.

"Grunkle Stan, what's happening?" Mabel cries as her and Dipper appear back downstairs.

"Yeah, you never shut down the gift shop." Dipper gives Stan an accusatory glance, and both Stan and I begin to pace nervously. The knock on the door has me jumping out of my skin, but Stan is quick to answer. There are two men in black at our door.

"Welcome to the Mystery Shack! What can I get you gentleman? Key chains, Snow globes? These rare photos of american presidents?" Did he just pull out bills? That fucking idiot.

"My name is Agent Powers, this is Agent Trigger," He begins, pulling out his badge. I was going to puke. Stan nudges me with his elbow lightly. Gotta keep it cool. " We're here to investigate reports of mysterious activity in this town."

"Mysterious activity? In the Mystery Shack? You've gotta be joking!" Apparently I'm not the only one incapable of keeping my cool.

"I assure you, I am not. I was born with a rare disorder that makes me physically incapable of experiencing humor."

Stan and I both laugh just a little bit before the two agents push past us.

"If you'll excuse us, we're trying to do an investigation here." They scan over the room, and I do a triple check to make sure the secret vending machine door is closed.

"Wait-- Did you guys say you're investigating the mysteries of Gravity Falls?"

"That information is classified... but yes." Agent Powers kneels down to speak with Dipper, and Stan and I exchange nervous looks. "Look, between you and me-- I believe there's a conspiracy of paranormal origin all connected to this town. We're just one small lead away from blowing the lid off of this entire mystery."

"Are you kidding me?" Dipper cries, I mutter a few curses and Stan and I flank each side of Dipper. "I'm investigating the exact same thing! I found this journal in the woods which has almost all the answers, if we work together-- We can crack the case!"

"If you have evidence of these claims, we should talk."

"We can talk right now! Come on in I have so mu--"

I quickly cover Dipper's mouth.

"I let him watch too much x-files last night, if I'm being honest. I'm probably the worst babysitter in the world."

"Yeah, I'm sorry agents," Stan laughs "The kid has an over active imagination. And like... a sweating problem. Paranormal town stuff is just part of gift shop lore. Sells more tickets, you know?" He snaps, and Soos runs over to the men, decorating them in paranormal attire.

"We have other spots to investigate, we'll be on our way." I feel Dipper squirm beneath me, but my hand remains over his mouth.

"I'm confiscating this for evidence, we'll be on our way." Agent Trigger grabs a handful of Staley bobble heads and the two men exit the shack. It isn't until they're driving away that I remove my hand from Dipper's mouth.

"What the heck!" Dipper cries, going to run out the door.

"Hoooold it, kiddo. The last thing you want around during a party is cops. I'm confiscating that card. How's about you go be a normal kid-- go flirt witha girl or steal a pie off a windowsill."

"Grunkle Stan, you don't understand!"

"Do NOT go talking to those agents!" Stan exits into the parlor and I place a hand on Dipper's shoulder.

"I know you don't really understand right now, but sometimes it's really for the best not to get the government involved... Dipper, haven't you seen the movies? Don't you get what they'd do to a paranormal creature?" He glares at me and I frown. "Do you really want to prove a unicorn exists just so they can dissect it? Would you really go through all that trouble just to get something tortured? What's the benefit of that? You'd be famous for being a murderer."

"But this could be my big break..."

"Big break into what, dude? Making the world hunt down and slaughter everything supernatural?"

"I think she might be right, Dipper..." Mabel starts, taking Dipper's journal from his hands. "Plus, we're having a party tonight. Can you please just go one night without searching for aliens or raising the dead?"

"I'm not gonna raise the dead, I just need a chance to show those agents my book." Ford's book, I want to say. But he wouldn't understand.

"Trust me, Dipper, the only book you'll need tonight is right here: Boop!" She pulls out a karaoke book. I sigh and leave the two alone, retreating upstairs. How was I supposed to work tonight with a party going on?

~-~-~-~-~-~

I don't really do parties, is the real answer. While the kids were distracted with setting up decorations and selling tickets, I managed to find some time to sneak down to the lab and go over all the dimension analysis that had printed in my time away.

Still no sign of Ford. I have no idea what I was expecting.

A defeated sigh, I kick up my feet on the desk and watch the new coffeepot brew across the room. Stan brought it downstairs for me last night, along with some creamer cups and sugar, but to be honest-- I had been drinking it black with only some minor sugar just for the added boost of energy.

I was exhausted. I managed a 2 hour nap, statistically proven to be the most effective power nap, in the time between the announcement and me sneaking away. Admittedly, I wasn't sure I could be much good for Stan in this condition. I was paranoid from the agents, high alert from the caffeine, and anxiety ridden from the lack of sleep. I was a ticking time bomb.

It didn't help when I spilled my coffee all over the desk once the bass from the music upstairs began to play. Had I been half asleep this whole time? Or was I so paranoid and caffeine high that I was beginning to loose portions of time while I waited in solitary?

When the screams started, I had no idea what was going on. At first, I feared the agents had returned. But the absolute horror sounds from upstairs were... more panicked, more gruesome. I had started a slow ascent up the stairs, contemplating opening the doors to the lab, but when my hand reached out to open it, someone else was forcing their way inside. I pressed myself up against the wall, and nearly lost my cool when a tattered Stanley placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Listen to me--"

"Jesus, Stan, you scared the shit out of me! What the hell is--"

"STAY IN THE LAB. DO NOT OPEN THIS DOOR, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

He's so serious, so angry but so ... protective. All I can do is nod. I'm scared, and so suddenly-- he's gone again.

What the fuck was I missing out there? The apocalypse? A gunfight? Riots? Did someone bring some crazy drug to the party that made people rip each other's faces off?

The caffeine heartbeat wasn't helping. The paranoia wasn't helping. Anxiety sure as hell wasn't helping.

I clutched tightly at my chest, ripping myself off the wall and storming back downstairs. I searched desperately around the lab. Would I need to defend myself? Would I need to hide? Should I be worried? Would he come back for me?

There was a door I hadn't noticed before. Did it lead outside? No, this was underground... what was through the door?

I was shaking with my steps, not sure what to expect. A portal through one door... perhaps experiments through the next?

A peaceful surprise when I opened the door. A bedroom, or rather, a room with a bed. The walls were lightly padded with a dark foam, presumably to drown out any noises the portal may have made. A sound proof sleeping room. Exactly what I needed. I step in, closing the door behind me-- and then I noticed what was in the corner I couldn't see.

A piano, seemingly untouched in the thirty years it's been left alone. A bit dusty, but an inspection of the keys shows it's still in tune. Amazing.

I shouldn't.

But... if it was a soundproof room... where was the real harm here? It was a beautiful piano, and it deserved to be appreciated just as much as the books and records had.

I used to take lessons. It didn't matter the orphanage, or the city the orphanage was in-- it was the one demand I always asked of my mother. Put me in piano lessons. Give me something to study that would at least challenge me.

I never regretted it.

Music was soothing. It slows down my brain. When everything else feels like it's overlapping, running a mile a minute and nothing else can possibly slow the earth's turn even a little-- I just need a little music.

Nothing was more soothing to me than the sound of the piano.

"Slow down, you crazy child-- you're so ambitious for a juvenile. But then, if you're so smart, tell me, why are you still so afraid?"

I couldn't hear screams from upstairs anymore. The soundproof room was wonderful in that. There was some relief in knowing that Stan was the only one who knew how to open the door to the basement... but I also worried that if... something had happened--

No.

That was anxiety talking.

Focus on the music.

"Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true..."

It was amazing how worn the keys on this piano actually were. It must be interesting to have six fingers on each hand. How had he learned to play? Did he teach himself? Could he play things no one else could? Or perhaps the extra fingers just got in the way? I like to imagine a man who looks like Stan lifting up his pinkeys just to play the piano.

"Man, he would've... loved you." I don't react much when I hear Stanley's voice. I just keep playing the worn keys. "Sorry about uh... well, the kid brought zombies."

"He literally raised the dead." I let out a small scoff as I keep playing. My peripherals catch Stan sitting down on the piano bench beside me.

"I don't ever want to think about this night again." He rubs his knuckle, and I finally take a chance to look over at him, letting out an audible gasp as I see his scraped features.

"Are you okay?" I whisper, reaching up and touching his bloody cheek. I inspect his figure, hair tousled, glasses bloodied, bruised chin and knuckles-- but nothing broken. "What the fuck..." I take a deep breath, subconsciously running my hands up through Stan's hair.

"Hey, relax, kid. I'm fine." He brings a hand up to my wrist, giving me a reassuring grin, one that looks almost as exhausted as I feel. "You were alright down here, right?"

"Y-yeah... nothing happened down here besides me playing the entirety of the Billy Joel record."

"Nice taste." He remarks, I drop my hands from his hair and place them on the space between us on the piano bench, leaning forward slightly when I smile.

"Learn from the best."

When I recognized how close I was to kissing him, I pulled myself off the piano bench. I couldn't. Not like this.

"Did anything come back from the scans?" He asks as I retreat the door, crossing my arms.

"Nothing so far..." I whisper. Why did I have to be so tired?

"I want to keep a watch on it tonight. You head up to bed. And uh, just ignore the mess. We'll take care of it tomorrow."

"Stan, I can watc-"

"No. I need you rested."

"Bu-"

"I said no."

I take a deep breath and stare down the man making demands of me.

"Well?" He asks, and in my tired daze, I decide-- yeah, fuck it, I'll just try it. I recede back to the piano bench, lean down, and promptly push my lips onto his.

His lips are dry, or maybe mine are, I can't tell. He's warm, or maybe I'm warm-- or both. It feels like what my heart has wanted, and I thought maybe...

I don't know. Whatever it was, I thought wrong, because when he pulls away, and rises from the bench to retreat to the lab-- I can tell I've made a terrible mistake.

I should not have kissed Stanley Pines.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~


	6. Midnight Walk

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Every morning for the past week has been exactly the same. Get up, shower, make coffee, go monitor the computers.

Stan didn't talk to me nearly as much as he used to. I suppose that was my fault. He wound up going out with the kids a lot more, tonight it was mini-golf. He still came down to check on the machine occasionally, but there was always a thick awkward silence in the air whenever we were alone in a room together. It was very apparent that I made Stan uncomfortable when I kissed him.

And I fucking hated myself for it.

Time in the lab ticked by very slowly. To be honest, it felt a bit like college again, just sitting and waiting for results, wishing I was anywhere but alone in a room full of computers. Then again, I was never that good at socializing. Maybe I was destined for this. Maybe I just had to create a robot husband to love me.

Maybe I should just apologize for being an idiot.

What should I even say? It was nearly 9pm. Stan hadn't come home at all, hasn't called to check in...

"Hello?" His voice sounded gruff and tired tonight.

"Uhm.. Just thought I should let you know it's down to 6 sectors. I kicked up speed when you left, I think this might be the longest it's run on high speed before."

"... Is that it?"

"No!" I let out a deep sigh. Why did he have to make me feel so guilty? "Look Stan... I'm sorry. I-I don't know what got into me and--"

"We'll talk later." Then dial tone.

I could cry. When did he turn so cold?

When did I get so emotional?

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

It was nearly midnight when Stan finally came down to the lab. I didn't turn around to greet him, I had no idea whether my eyes were still red and puffy from the cry I had. I simply remained leaned over my coffee, letting the steam hit my face.

"Did I ever tell you..." He starts, leaning against a table against the wall to my right. "I got married once?"

"...No." I respond quietly. Jesus, did I kiss a married man?

"It was a drunken Vegas thing.. took my 5 hours to sober up and an hour to get a divorce. Worst mistake of my life, she was actually able to get money off of me."

"Worst mistake getting married or getting a divorce?" He lets out a chuckle to this question.

"Getting married. I wasn't ready, I didn't know what I was doing, and it became apparent she only liked me for the money I won playing poker. When I got thrown out of the casino, she followed after me like a cat in heat." I grab a sugar packet and dump it into my coffee, stirring it boredly. "Look, kid, my point here--"

"It's Kat."

"Kat." He corrects himself. "I don't want you.. chasing after me because I'm the only thing you know."

"I don't have Stockholm Syndrome!"

"That is NOT what I was implying." He sighs and rubs the back of his neck. "Look, I know you've always known me, and that you think I'm worth it but... I've led a bad life, Kat. I'm not the man you think I am, and honestly-- I think you're only attracted to me because you haven't put yourself out there to meet anyone better."

I finally take a chance to look up at the man, who is currently expressing a look of a guilty puppy. Did he really think I cared about his past? About him going to jail? About a six hour marriage?

"You're ridiculous." I say, catching him off guard. I can tell from the way his eyes soften that my eyes are clearly still red and puffy, or maybe I'm just close to tearing up again. "I grew up entirely alone, moving from place to place-- and never did one single connection I make last. No one cared about me when I left. No one cared where I went or how I wound up. No one ever asked how I was. No one sent me letters." I stand up, coffee mug tight in between my hands. "You did, though. Where other people couldn't be bothered to send a text, you wrote me letters from prison. You wonder why I sent bail money? Because I trust you, because we've always held a connection despite being hundreds of miles apart at any given moment. When you called me, I thought, man, this is going to be the best time of my life. I missed you so much, all I ever wanted was to see you again. I sold my fucking apartment to get here. I left everything behind. That should say something about how I view your character, Stanley. Because you're right, you're not a good man. You're a great man, the greatest one I've ever known."

He stares at me, holding a straight face. I can tell he's conflicted. I can tell that my words both stung and healed.

"Yet you still treat me like an ignorant child. Like I'm still the same kid I was when we first met." I reach up and wipe my cheeks of some tears. "I recognize I crossed a line, but I don't need to be lectured about my feelings. I don't need to be put in a corner and given the silent treatment. I said I'm sorry, and you could at least give me the courtesy of forgiving me."

"I do forgive you."

"Thank you." I say quickly, sitting back down. "Then there's nothing else to say regarding this."

Then we're back to the heavy air of silence. Stan reaches around to the handle, putting the machine back onto it's low setting for the night.

"When I got kicked out of the house... when I got Ford rejected from his top school-- My folks never wanted to hear from me again. Ford never wanted to hear from me." He grabs the other desk chair and pulls it up beside me, spinning me in mine to make me face him. "I couldn't stay in one town long, most friends I made wound up being enemies. If I'm being honest... I gave you my address here assuming I'd be long gone by the time you sent a message." He casts his glance to the floor, "When I got your letter in the mail, I was dumbstruck. I didn't get personal mail. I got bills. I got court orders. No one cared enough to write. Ever."

He places a hand on my shoulder, and I try to push down this aching feeling in my stomach.

"You were the first, Kat. I can't express how much that meant to me... but I don't think I need to. I think you know. I do love you... but not in the way you think you love me."

"You're going to make me cry." I whisper. My throat hurt. It burnt and it was stuck and it was very hard to breath without worry some choked up sob would fall out.

"If you want things to go back to how they were, you gotta let it out, kid."

Kid. Just a kid.

"God dammit." I let it out. I cant even help how it comes out, my hands raise up to my eyes and I hunch forward, but when I feel Stan's hand retract, I look up, and through my blurry vision I can see what he's doing. I leap into his open arms, throwing my face against his chest. I cry, and all I can picture is twenty something years ago when I found out my mom would be gone just a little bit longer than planned. I wonder if that's what he sees when he looks at me, especially like this... just the same five year old he comforted when her mom left. Always a broken heart. Always alone.

Maybe I never did change as much as I thought. Maybe I am just a kid.

"Why don't you head up to bed?" Stan says sweetly, and I rise up out of my chair. I head upstairs, but I don't go to my room.

I decide to go for a walk instead-- at midnight in Gravity Falls.

~-~-~-~-~


	7. Hungover

I woke up in bed, which-- was weird. Because the last thing I remembered was being in the woods. At night.

Did I drink? That must be it. My body is sore.

I rise out of bed, recognizing that I'm still in the clothes from last night. I run a hand through my hair, exceptionally greasy for only one night. What the hell did I do?

I grab some clothes and escape to the bathroom, not being able to find a temperature setting that warms my skin up enough. I rub my shoulders and neck, the most sore spots on my body, letting out a groan that might be interpreted in bad ways if someone was walking by.

When I get dressed up and step into the kitchen, towel still around my neck, I'm met with some wild stares from the Pines family.

"Uh... good morning to you too?" I raise an eyebrow. Did I forget to put pants on? Nope.

"That's all you have to say for yourself, really?" Dipper glares at me, putting his utensils down.

"Uhhh. I'm sorry? Did something happen?" I look to Stan, who narrows his eyes at me.

"Are you kidding?!" Mabel flails her arms. "You were gone for three days, not a word, and you expect us to accept 'duuuh, I'm sorrrry?' "

"Three days? What? I was gone one night! Not even a full night, I just went for a walk!" I look up to Stan, and he slams his hands down on the kitchen table, frightening everyone.

"That's your explanation? I--WE-- were worried sick about you. You just up and vanish and come back like it's nothing!" He turns back around, obviously furious. "Three days, Katherine. You were gone for three days."

"No." I bring a hand up to my head, a sudden headache coming over me.

"YES YOU WERE!"

And suddenly its nauseating. Was I hung over? I've never been hung over, was it normally this crippling? It flooded through my brain like a release of drugs, it surged a pain through my body that I can only relate to electricity. I gripped at the sides of my head. I could hear the Pines talking, but it was muffled. It hurt. All of it hurt.

"Katherine." Stan pulls me back to reality, making me stand and placing his hands on my shoulders. "Were you drinking?" He furrows his brow, but when my eyes tear up, he melts.

"I don't remember anything..." I say quietly. "The last thing I remember is going for a walk in the woods, Stan... Honest."

"... We'll talk about this later.. maybe you should go lay down for the day." He pats my shoulder and urges me upstairs, which I am not pleased about, but agree to do anyways.

It had nothing to do with my health, and more to do with the absolute frustration of not remembering anything about the last three nights I was gone....

What the hell happened?

~-~-~-~-~-~

"I'm a blanchin', girl' we blanchin', I live up in a mansion."

The same song has been playing from the radio downstairs for three hours. Three. awful. loud. annoying. hours.

I didn't have a problem with Soos. Soos was amazing, I love Soos. He's kind and funny and surprisingly intelligent when it comes to mysteries--- But oh my god did his taste in music suck.

And I think it was apparent on my face that I felt that way when I stormed downstairs into the front room, catching Soos in the act of starting the rap over.

"Shut.it.off." I threaten.

"I can't get that stupid song out of my head!" Wendy, the other worker for the mystery shack, groans.

"I can't shut it off! It's the catchiest song of the summer!"

"What even is Blanchin? Rappers can't just make up words." Wendy shakes her fists in agony.

"Rappers are visionaries, Wendy. If they told me to eat my own pants-- I would do it."

I storm over and turn off the radio, glad to finally have my head soothed by the silence of the room.

"SOOS! WENDY!!!" Dipper and Mabel burst through the front door, "and Kat! We NEED to go see Old Man McGucket."

"We'll explain on the way!" Mabel grabs me and pulls me all the way to the car, shoving me into the back of the four door truck.

"Who the heck is Old Man McGucket?" I mutter, rubbing my eyes of the dust that kicks up as we peel out of the parking lot.

"He's hilarious! He married a raccoon once." Soos laughs to himself at this. I feel concerned. What raises even more concern in me, however, is when Soos stops the car at the city dump.

"...You're kidding me."

"He really lives here." Wendy pats my shoulder as I look up at the sign. We enter the dump through a break in the fence and approach a small shack, two teenage boys are spray painting the side of it.

"It took me an hour to think of it, but it's so worth it." They run off in gleeful delight, leaving 'McSuckit' spray painted in pink on the side of the building.

"Darn kids... They got me good." He noticed us out of the corner of his eye. I don't know what to think about the old man in just overalls and a hat. Why were his limbs in casts? Why does he walk like that, or better yet, why does he live here of all places? "Visitors! Come on in, pull up some rusty metal, you're just in time for my hourly turf war with the hillbilly what lives in mah' mirror." The man shakes a fist at his own reflection, and my brain trying to process this man's facial features on top of my brain trying to process what's happened to me in the past few days gives me an overwhelming headache.

"You can drop the act, McGucket. I know you're the author. You studied the mysteries of this town and wrote this book." Dipper pulls Ford's journal from the inside of his coat. I want to speak up, but I remember the promise I made to him. I couldn't let Dipper know about Ford...

"You're the genius Dipper has been looking for all summer." Wendy pulls out a smashed laptop from her bag and shows McGucket, who shakes his head sadly.

"I'm not a genius, I've never done nothing worthwhile in my life. Everyone know I'm no good to nobody. I can't remember what I used to be, but I must've been a big failure to end up like this."

"But the laptop has your name on it!" Soos argues, and Dipper opens up the journal.

"What about this book? Are you sure you didn't write it?" He flips through page after page.

"I told you, I didn't write it... Everything before 1982 is just a blur."

"1982? Why 1982?" I pull my hand from my head.

"I'm not entirely sure... It's all just a hazy... The blind eye!" He finally backs away from the journal with some recognition. "Robes!! The men-- my mind! They did something!"

"Who did?" Dipper raises an eyebrow.

"Oh... oh I don't recall."

"Wait... Let me see that symbol." I take the journal from Dippers hand, almost dropping it as soon as it's handed to me. "I... I've seen that before." I hand him back the book and reach up to my neck. "I can't think.. Is it hot in here? I-I feel like I haven't had water in days." Soos responds by pulling a bottle from his backpack and handing it to me, which I gratefully drink in one go. Nothing feels right.

"You poor old man, no wonder your mind is messed up... you've been through something intense."

"And not just Mcgucket, but Kat, too." Wendy adds.

"What if... McGucket learned something he wasn't supposed to know, and someone, or someTHING messed with his mind? We've got to get to the bottom of this." Dipper nods to Wendy.

"Think, dude, what is the earliest thing you can remember?"

"Uh... This is, I think." He pulls an article from the wall. The headline reads 'Disoriented old man found at museum'.

"And you, Kat?" Dipper looks to me, I can tell he's more suspicious of me now than he's ever been.

"I went for a walk las-- Uh, well I guess three nights ago after Stan and I fought--"

"YOU AND GRUNKLE STAN FOUGHT!?" Mabel cries.

"FOCUS." Dipper shouts, I raise a hand and grab at my head.

"I was... walking through the woods, watching all the animals-- owl, bats. I thought I heard something following me uhm. And then I-I... woke up in my bed." Now I felt it, something was missing. There's a whole memory just missing from my mind.

"Well I guess we'll have to go with Mcgucket here, if he remembers the history museum, that's where we'll check first."

~-~-~-~-~-~

"I'm blanchin', girl we blanchin'--"

"UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! SOOS." Wendy punches the disk player and tosses the cd from the car. She recognizes only moments after that she has upset Soos. "...I'll buy you a new one."

"Is the history museum even open right now?"

"Did you really think that would stop us?" Mabel narrows her eyes at me. "So, Katherine. When were you gonna tell us about your fight?"

"Uh, I...wasn't?"

"WHY WEREN'T YOU GONNA TELL ME? I AM THE RELATIONSHIP GURU!!" Mabel whines very loudly, and it almost looks like tears are forming in her eyes.

"I-it wasn't important! I'm sorry, I just... It was pretty overwhelming, and since I've gotten home things haven't slowed down for a minute. I hardly even remember Stan and I fighting. I'm sorry, Mabel."

She wipes her eyes on her sweater sleeve and gives me a soft smile. "Well," she starts. "I'm listening."

"Mabel, I really don't th-"

"Tell us. Tell us. Tell us." Wendy chants.

"As Stan's future adopted son, I think you letting me know of any fights is very important, so I know how you are as a candidate for an adopted mother."

"Adopted mother?! What?" I place a hand over my heart.

Even McGucket is looking at me with expectant eyes. I let out a lengthy sigh.

"I'm sure everything is fine, now, Kat. Stan can't stay mad at anyone." Dipper gives me a reassuring smile.

"While I do think that's true, I'm not sure I can be forgiven."

"The anticipation is KILLING me." Mabel groans, the noise bounces off every corner of my skull. This was too much talking. I needed more rest. I needed more water.

"I kissed him, okay?!" I clutch at my temple and belittle myself internally for spitting that out.

"OHMYGOODNESS-- Was it magical? Was there fireworks? Did he--"

"He pushed me off and didn't speak to me for a week." I snap at Mabel, not on purpose, just still irritated by the headache. "Sorry," I mumble, leaning against the window hoping it will cool my burning forehead. "When he finally DID talk to me, it was to let me know that I was wrong in how I felt, and that he could never feel the same way."

"I'm gonna punch him." Mabel whispers darkly.

"Don't bother." I pat her head. "I've lived with it since I met him, I can handle it for the rest of my life."

But that wasn't exactly true, was it? I mean, I kissed him hoping for a reaction, and the one I got broke my heart. I responded by running off into the woods, upset and alone. I wound up with stolen memories and confusion. I couldn't do this for the rest of my life.

I don't think she needs to know that, though.

"If it's any consolation, you're too smart for Stan anyways." Dipper says, opening the car door for me when we finally come to a stop at the museum. "You need to look for someone with the same interests as you, or someone who can appreciate all the hard work you did in school. Stan can't be that guy for you." He rubs the back of his head, clearly embarrassed with everything he's just said.

Even I'm embarrassed with everything he's just said.

"Thanks, Dip." I kneel down and scoop him into a hug, surprising him more than I thought was possible. It's odd to me, how much I love this family despite having no real blood relation.

"I think I can get this window open!" Soos calls out, and we all make our way through it and inside the museum.

"Alright-- keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious."

I follow Mabel through the museum, watching he let out an elongated sigh and catching Wendy's attention.

"Hey Mabel, are you okay? You just walked by a cat without petting it."

"Oh, Wendy. Everything I look at reminds me of my failed romances! That formaldehyde heart, that romantic diorama, even this poster of my most recent ex crush!" Re rips the poster off the wall and Wendy and I exchange concerned glances.

"Guys, look!" Soos shouts, and we all see a cloaked shadowy figure at the end of the hall. We take off after the figure, stopping only when we come to a room totally filled with eyeballs.

"I feel like all these eyeballs are watching me." McGucket admits nervously, backing up against a wall.

"They are... move aside!" Dipper walks up to the wall, where and crest on what looks to be old limestone sits against the wall. He pushes the crest, and the fireplace slides over, revealing a secret passage.

"This is the coolest thing I have ever done." Dipper admits, and we head down the newly revealed staircase. There's a large red velvet curtain at the end of the hall, and when we peek through, the site is astounding. Red hooded figures, letting out a chant, circling a box.

"Who is the subject of our meeting?" One steps forward and asks. Two men bring forth a woman from the shadows.

"This woman." They all respond.

"Lazy Susan?" Mabel asks.

"What is it that you have seen?" The man, presumably the leader, asks.

"SPEAK."

"Uh, yeah well.. I was leaving the diner and I saw these like... little bearded doo-dads. And I was like whaat?!"

"There there," The leader says, pulling something from the box. "You won't be like 'What' for much longer." He reaches up and point the object at the woman, a blue light emitting from it and causing the woman in the chair to scream in agony.

"We need to stop them." I say suddenly, but dipper grabs on to my hand.

"Wait." He says, and I look back up at the scene.

"Lazy Susan, What do you know of little bearded men?"

"My mind is clear, thanks to the society of the blind eye." She responds in a monotone voice.

"Jesus..." I whisper.

"It is unseen." The group chants.

"They wiped her memory!" Dipper whispers.

"They should've wiped off that awful mascara!" Soos giggles.

"I think she looks beautiful!"

"She's doing the best she can, Soos!" Wendy and Mabel argue back.

"Woah, touched a nerve there."

"Lazy Susan, how do you feel?" The leader asks, Susan is untied from the chair and she leaps up out of it.

"I feel great! I can't even remember what was wrong!" Two men escort her out of the room.

This felt... way too real. What was this place? Is this what happened to me? I definitely didn't get black out drunk one night... something happened here.

"Into the hall of the forgotten!" the group chants, and I watch as the man pulls something from the device he used on Susan. He labels it, then puts it into what looks like a bank transportation tube. The group then disperses, and we head in once the room is clear.

"Amazing," Dipper starts. "A secret society of evil mind erasers. I bet they erased your memories a long time ago, McGucket."

"And Kat's yesterday." Wendy finishes with a nod.

"If we could find where your memories have been hidden, it could be the key to unlocking all the mysteries of Gravity Falls."

"And getting Grunkle Stan to forgive Kat for getting black out drunk!"

"I didn't get blackout drunk, Mabel!"

"HE DOESN'T KNOW THAT." She puts her hands on her hips and I let out another groan, clutching at my head.

"Let's just get this over with.. let me know if you find a water fountain, or like... a cheeseburger."

"Alright, Mabel, Wendy, you two stay here and make sure those robe guys don't come back."

"Whooohooo! Girl's club!" Wendy ruffles Mabel's hair lovingly.

"Soos, Kat-- you two and Mcgucket and me are gonna go find the hall of the forgotten and get those memories back." Soos looks up at the bank transportation tube, getting his hat sucked up into it in the process. "Follow that hat!"

We take off down the halls of the museum, nearly stopping as we hear someone calling at us to halt. The boys jump into a diorama and place the costumes on as quickly as they can. I duck down into a wagon and hide underneath the hay, assassin's creed style.

"Man, these mannequins are really poorly made."

"I could've sworn I heard someone."

"Probably just the janitor kissing that wax settler woman again."

I can hear their footsteps go down the halls away from us and finally pop out of the straw to breath.

"There goes the hat!" Dipper whispers, and we're off again. The tube goes down a shaft that looks much like and elevator one, a I thought we were done for until Dipper grabs onto the tubs and slides down it like a fireman's pole. We arrive at a large door, with the symbol from the journal painted across the top. When it's opened, the room before us is filled with all the strange tubes containing memories.

"How the hell... am I ever supposed to find my memories in this mess?"

"Lookie here, it's those words what people call me!" Fiddleford points up behind the large statue, his name clearly written across a tube. I accidentally kick a tube on the way by, and as it rolls, all I can see is 'Bishop'.

"This one is mine!" I quickly pick it up off the floor, and Dipper pulls it from my hands to place in the viewing machine.

"Tell us what you have seen."

"No! Just get me out of here, you're not safe! I need to le--" The me in the video hisses sharply, my neck is bleeding, my body is thrashing violently. "LET ME GO!" I shout, and it sounds like a million voices in one.

"What the hell.." I mutter, absolutely horrified with the person I could see in the video.

Was that me? Was that... even a person at all?

"Restrain her! I know what this is." He dials something into the machine.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"She must never know what has happened tonight. If we can prevent her, she might never fall in to the temptations."

"PLEASE! I-I don't want to hurt anyone!" You can see that I'm crying, that I'm totally distraught as the men hold me down in the chair. "I would never hurt anyone."

"We're going to make sure of that."

My body flinches as I watch myself get zapped with the memory wiping device. My screams are violent and furious. I don't look at all like myself.

I look even less like myself when it's over.

"Katherine Bishop... what do you know--"

I already knew, before he finished. I could remember everything so suddenly.

"of vampires?"

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~


	8. Sweet Dreams

Calm down. Breathe. Do you breathe now? Remember where you are. You're home. No, no wait, you aren't. You're in the museum. In fact, you're freaking out in the museum in front of one of the kids you care about the most in this world. You're probably really scaring them. You need to chill out. Open your eyes.

Why is the room empty? There's... tubes coming out of the floor.

Oh. You're just on the ceiling. Never mind.

"Katherine?" I can hear Dipper ask. I look up... rather, down? At him. He's scared. That's clear.

"I..." I can't even find words.

"It's okay." He responds. It's comforting. A 12 year old is comforting a 26 year old.

"It doesn't feel okay." I say quietly, my voice cracking." I was on the ceiling, for starters.

"Just come down here. It's fine." Dipper waves reassuringly, and I feel my body floating down to the floor. "From what I've read... Vampires don't even drink blood." He flips open Ford's journal, showing me the page. "They just suck the red out of things. It would kind of make sense, why they attacked you... you were probably red in the face, embarrassed and mad."

I bring my hands up over my face. How was this 12 year old more composed and more intelligent than I have ever been?

"You're gonna be okay." He grabs my hand and squeezes it reassuringly, pulling it from my eyes.

"You're such an amazing kid, Dipper." I whisper.

"Grabby, Grabby!" McGucket crawls up the statue and pulls his memory vial from it's spot. This triggers something in the statue to move, and the large eye opens up, triggering an alarm system.

Clearly, those memories are important. Whatever they are.

"RUN!" Dipper shouts, and we all take off down the hall. I wondered what I'd be able to do now that I could remember. Did vampires.. have perks? I jump up off the ground as I run, recognizing that my body was basically floating across the air. The boys duck behind some statues, and I float up to a shadowed corner of the ceiling.

Before I recognize it, I'm a bat. An actual, tiny, small... fluffy bat.

And the boys are gone.

Shit. The men got to them, but where did they go? Well I suppose... if someone found your secret lair, you'd probably want to erase their memories of it. I quietly fly my way back to the main room where we began, tucking myself in an eve of the tall ceiling. Sure enough, the society had Mabel, Wendy, Soos, and Dipper tied up. Where was McGucket?

Slowly, the members of the society remove their hoods. Every single member can be named by Dipper and Mabel, until it comes down to the leader.

"I am Blind Ivan, and we are the society of the blind eye. Formed many years ago by our founder... Our founder.... Does anyone remember who he was?" But wasn't it obvious?

His name was on the vial the held a special place on the statue. He couldn't remember anything from before 1982 because in 1982 he wiped his mind with the machine he invented. He did invent the laptop Dipper had, it was all McGucket. But why did Dipper think that related to the journals?

"But why are you doing all this?" Dipper asks.

"As you have noticed, Gravity Falls is a town plagued with supernatural strangeness. No one knew how to stop the things that went bump in the night. So our founder invented the next best thing-- a way for us to forget. We took it upon ourselves to help the townsfolk by erasing the strange things they've seen. Now the people of Gravity Falls go about their lives ignorant and happy, thanks to us. And as a perk-- We help ourselves forget things that trouble us. Everyone has something they'd rather forget, in fact, you own sister was about to use that ray on herself! Isn't that right?"

"Mabel? Seriously?"

"Maybe..."

I can't believe these guys. Why would anyone ever want to forget the mysterious creatures? The unexplained? The anomalies? Why try to hide it? Why try to forget? Why not just... live with it.

Live with knowing what's out there. Live with the reality. Live with... well, being a vampire. Use it to grow. Use it to make new bonds.

Use it to save your friends.

I change back and drop from the ceiling. I see a pan fly by and knock the gun out of Ivan's hands, but I still chose to fall onto his with all my strength. McGucket runs past, untying the group.

"GET THE GIRL." Ivan cries, and as a few members step towards me, I let out the only noise I could think to make.

A dark, terrifyingly loud, and ominous growl. It sounded like a pack of rabid dogs, like an entire heard of lions. I was vicious. Nobody hurts my little cinnamon buns. Nobody makes me forget that I am now a red-sucking badass.

Nobody makes the man I love think I'm an alcoholic.

"I raided the mining display for weapons, now fight like a hillbilly!" McGucket cries as he leaps forward, swinging a pickaxe at the members who try to go after him. Wendy swings a banjo around relentlessly. I can see a man going to punch Dipper, and I feel some sort of motherly instinct kick in.

The scream I let out echoes through the halls, I jump onto the large man using all my strength to pull his arms back behind his back. My head still hurt, I was still dazed.

But then what Dipper said is clear in my mind. Vampires only suck the red out of things...

How convenient that I'm in a room of red robes.

When I'm finished with the clothy material, it's a dull grey color. It was unsatisfying to eat, but cured my headache none the less.

"Don't try to lay a damn finger on my boy." I growl, throwing the man against the brick wall and knocking him out cold.

"That... was so cool!" Dipper shouts.

"Give me that tube!" Ivan shouts, coming after Dipper.

"Never!" He shouts, throwing the memory up and into another transport tube. "That memory belongs to McGucket!" The two take off down the hall after the tube.

"The society's secrets belong to us!" He trips Dipper, and grabs the memories as they come out of the tube. He points the memory wipe at the group. "End of the line! By tomorrow, this will just seem like a bad dream. Say goodbye to your precious memories."

Before the gun's charge can release on to us, McGucket jumps in front, taking the damage.

"Oh my gosh, McGucket! Are you okay?!"

"Okay as I'll ever be!" He chuckles and steps towards Ivan, who continues firing at the man. How is he not affected?

"Why isn't this working?!" Ivan cries.

"Hit me with your best shot, Baldy! But my mind's been gone for 30 odd years. You can't break what's already broken!" He smacks the gun from Ivan's hands and grabs him by the collar, slamming his head into Ivan and knocking him out.

"Holy shi-" Wendy nudges me in the gut before I can finish. "Right so. Anyone else vote we tie them up and erase the society of the blind eye from their memory?"

Everyone else holds up their hands. Unanimous. Excellent.

~-~-~-~-~-~

"Alright McGucket, are you ready to see your forgotten memories?" Dipper points to the viewing machine. McGucket is clearly nervous.

"I'm not sure... What if I don't like what I see?"

"You've come this far." Mabel places a hand on his shoulder and McGucket nods slowly. He walks up to the machine and places the tube in.

"My name is Fiddleford Hadron McGucket-- and I wish to unsee what I have seen."

What. WHAT. The total nerdy babe on the screen is the same guy in front of me? Are you for real?

Then I notice the board behind him... there's a drawing on it. It's definitely a drawing of the portal.

"For the past year I have been assisting a visiting researcher. He has been cataloging his findings in a series of journals. I helped him build a machine which he believed had the potential to benefit all mankind. But something went wrong, I decided to quit the project. But I lie awake at night, haunted by the thoughts of what I've done. I believe I have invented a machine that will help me forget what I have done." He raises the same gun to his temple.

There's no doubt in my mind he was Ford's assistant. But where did things go wrong? As far as I can tell, Ford was alone when Stanley came to see him... when he fell into the portal. The lab makes sense now, the extra bedroom, the extra radiation suit.. But what happened that so obviously frightened Fiddleford into leaving?

Day after day plays through, Fiddleford talks about creating the society, he slowly loses his wonderful accent... he loses everything that makes him.. him.

When the memories stop playing, there's an unsettling silence in the room.

"McGucket... I'm so sorry." Mabel whispers. Fiddleford walks up to the machine and takes his memory tube out.

"Aw hush, you kids helped me get my memories back, just like you said."

"But, did you want those memories back?"

"After all these years, I finally know who I am. Maybe I messed up in the past, but now that I've seen who I've been, maybe I can start to put myself together again." He gives an encouraging smile.

"So you weren't the author, but you worked with him. Do you remember who he was?" Dipper asks.

"It's beginning to come back, but I need more time. And reading glasses! I got some remembering to do!"

"And what about you, Kat? Are you okay with.. being a vampire?" Dipper asks, and the whole group looks to me. I take a deep breath.

"If what you say is true, if I don't really need to hurt anyone to survive... then yeah, I guess this isn't so bad."

~-~-~-~-~-~

I didn't expect him to believe me. He didn't believe I wasn't black out drunk, why would he believe this?

The better question was what would he think of me now? Was telling him really the best solution?

But I suppose me telling him would be far better than one of the kids telling him. It had to be me, I'm sure he had... things to say after the other night, anyways.

"Could we talk?" My voice came out much weaker than I anticipated. I was surprised he even heard me.

"Are you ready to tell me the truth?" He asks, still clearly bitter with the actions he assumed I took.

"Yes. But, uhm... I think you should sit down for this." Stanley gives me a bored look as he turns around to lean on the counter with his coffee mug. "Fine," I begin with a sigh. "Today... the kids and I did some digging around, and we found out what happened to me the other night." I rub my arm nervously.

Was I about to show him this? About to get myself kicked out of the house? How would he react to this? He just barely fought off zombies... god knows what he'd do to a vampire.

But then again, I guess I really didn't have a place here. I assumed far too much of Stanley Pines, thinking he could ever... love me.

He could never love me. Especially not now.

So might as well get this over with now.

"I want to preface this by saying-- I'm not... as dangerous as I'm going to seem." And then I let myself float. His eyes widen, but he's still not as repulsed as he would be soon enough.

So I let myself become a bat.

But he just continues to look at me.

"Say something!" I respond, changing back. I feel my heartbeat pick up. Was that a heartbeat? Or was that a headache? I don't even know anymore. Am I dead? Am I alive? "Dammit, REACT." I slam my fist into the wall, causing the drywall to crumble beneath my fist and leave a rather large hole next to the door frame. "WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?" I feel my chest heave. Was he ignoring me? Was he afraid?

"Kid--"

"KATHERINE." I shout, my voice splitting apart like it had done previously. "Katherine." I correct myself, hushing my harsh voice.

"Katherine," He takes a step towards me, and my eyes shut tightly. Would it hurt? "Do the kids know?" His voice is quiet and gentle, perhaps he's afraid I'll snap. Perhaps I already have.

"Yes."

"Is it alright with them?" I find it in me to look up at Stanley, who now seems more concerned than surprised.

"I think so.." I give a small nod.

And then he does the thing I wasn't expecting-- he holds out his arms to me. Like he was waiting for me to come running into them. Like I was small again, and he was so sure I'd fall right back into his comfort.

And then I do the thing I wasn't expecting-- I crash into him. I bury my face deep into his chest. I clutch at his lapels and let out noises with sobs that I wasn't sure I could make. My ribs shake and my shoulders hunch into such a tight position that I'm not sure I'll be able to pull myself out of this position.

Stanley's hands come to rest on my head and on my back, rubbing both slowly to comfort me.

"What were you expecting, numbskull? For me to kick you to the curb?" He chuckles and I feel my lip quiver. I was expecting that. "Honestly, if me hurting you once winds up in you marching out and getting turned into a blood sucking bat, I cant imagine what me making you homeless would do to you."

I can't believe the pitiful laugh that I choke out. What a jerk.

Why did I have to love him?

"I don't suck blood, you know. It's all in Ford's journals." I pull from him and rub my eyes dry.

"If you think I paid attention to every damn monster in those books--"

"I just mean... I'm not dangerous, really." I take a deep breath to compose myself. "Just suck the red out of things. The color fuels me. I felt so sick because I wasn't sure what to do over the past few days, I didn't get the color I needed."

"How does that even work?" Stan pinches the bridge of his nose.

"The most likely theory has to do with the color helping the body think the blood has enough red blood cells to function properly. It's like a placebo. In all reality, my body is perpetually burning, constantly fevering and fighting something that there's no solution to. It kicks into fight or flight in an instant, and crashes come pretty heavily. Lots of heat will exhaust me and potentially make me pass out, which is where I think the 'no sun' myth comes from. It's interesting really, to learn where the legends all come from." I stare at my hands. I've always been pretty pale, I guess that wasn't about to change any time soon.

"You sound like pointdexter." Stan says, taking a sip of his coffee. "Welp, I already have the caffeine, so I'm gonna go monitor the lab. Why don't you head up to your coffin and rest?" He pats me on the shoulder.

"To be honest, Stan, I think it'd be better if I do night shifts from now on considering... you know. Kind of more...active at night." I rub the back of my neck and Stan shrugs.

"Starting tomorrow, I suppose." He takes another sip, and I feel my eyes fall from him to the floor. Looking at him now, knowing all the things I did... and said-- it was hard. "Hey." Stan calls out to me, placing his mug down on the counter. "I'm sorry if I hurt you, Kat. If I had known what it would do, I wouldn't have let you walk away. Please, don't let it beat you up and go get some sleep, okay?"

He gives me a sympathetic smile, and with a reluctant sigh, I can't help but smile back.

"Okay, Stan."

"Sweet dreams, Kat."

"Goodnight."

~-~-~-~-~-~-~


	9. Not What He Seems

By the time Woodstick came to Gravity Falls, Stan and I had full confidence that the machine would be able to locate Stanford in a matter of days. The portal was left running for most of the day, and Stan and I decided that going out to grab lunch at the diner with the kids was the best was to be inconspicuous.

Mabel and Dipper seemed to be off causing nonsense a few booths down, bugging a star obviously here for the concerts tonight. This left me to poke boredly at the stack of pancakes I wouldn't be finishing and avoid eye contact with Stanley.

I'm still not handling his rejection as well as I should be, but at the very least I can be around him with out making it terribly weird. Stanley decided to focus his attention on a newspaper, and didn't even notice as Mabel approached, dumping a bottle of glitter on top of the man's pancakes.

I give her a small smirk, patiently awaiting Stanley's reaction to the mouthful of sparkly dirt. But when he looks up, it's not at all what I was expecting. His eyes are wide as he stares at me, his pupils dilating, before the man gives me an unknown smirk and a wink.

"Did you gain the ability to hypnotize when you became a vampire, or am I just getting lost in your eyes?"

My attention snaps abruptly to Mabel. "What did you do?" I narrow my eyes at the tween who simply giggles before running off. Whatever that glittery concoction was, it made Stan infatuated with me. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing... but... it also wasn't right.

"Hey sweetcheeks," Stan purrs, and it takes me a moment to realize he's addressing me. I turn my attention back to the man giving me bedroom eyes. "Why don't we head back to the love shack and you can show me every detail of you that's changed?"

"I don't think you mean that, Stanley." I mutter, the blood rushing to my face and leaving it a fiery color.

"Want me to spell it out? U and I," Stan throws some cash onto the table then holds his hand out to me. "Come with me, Kat. I'll show you the time of your life."

None of this felt right. He wasn't treating me the same at all. I was so used to him calling me kid all the time that I wasn't entirely sure I had ever actually grown up. I'm used to him looking at me with adoration... not lust. This was so odd, so wrong...

So new.

"I'll hold you to that, Stan." I grab his extended hand and he pulls me up, leading me out of the diner and into his car.

"I'll hold you to me," Stanley presses his body against me as we reach his car, pinning me between the door and him. My moral compass is supposed to be stronger than this, stronger than my heart and all the dopamine in my brain. Stanley Pines did not love me in these ways, he made that very apparent.

I should not be letting him say these things to me, because it's basically against his will.

But then again, a little flattery never hurt... right?

"I think we should just get you home," I let out a nervous laugh and try to open the car door, failing because Stanley was still pressed against me.

"I'll take you home with me, toots." He purrs again, bringing his face in close to my neck.

"We're in public, Stan!" I push my arms against his chest, but he simply grabs my wrists, still giving me bedroom eyes and a content smile.

"I don't see anyone but you."

How the hell was I supposed to deal with a man so obviously infatuated that he wouldn't even stop pressing his body against me? I needed to get him home, at least keep him inside until I found out how to reverse whatever spell Mabel put him under.

The answer came pretty quickly, but it wasn't one I'd care to admit.

"Alright, big boy," I soften my gaze at Stan, giving him a smirk. "Let's just get home and you can show me what you're made of."

"Please," He grabs the handle of the door, pulling me towards him as he pulls the door open. "Call me daddy."

 

. . .

Lord, have mercy.

~-~-~-~-~-~

"MABEL ELIZABETH PINES, GET OVER HERE THIS INSTANT." The voice that escaped my throat sounded less like my own voice and more like my mother's.

Mabel had a look of utter fear, but ran off anyways. "Sorry, bigger fish to fry!"

"She won't want to be inside to hear the noises you'll be making."

What do I know-- Stanley is under some sort of spell. He's infatuated. He's... well, kind of a horn dog. Mabel had the spell, Mabel probably has the cure.

"Dipper!" I lay eyes on her older brother, who approaches me, clearly nervous from the look in my eyes. "Dipper, I need you.. to get the cure from your sister, whatever she did to Stanley-- it's not right."

"If it's wrong, I don't want to be right, babe!" Stan purrs, and Dipper visibly shivers.

"I'll find her."

"Thanks, dude. I think I'm just gonna... keep Stan away from people for a while." I push Stanley into the Mystery Shack and out of the Woodstick crowd. This was the worst possible time for concerts to be going on.

The more Stanley doted on me... the less I found myself enjoying the attention. This wasn't at all like he used to treat me. I miss being special, but not in such a weird way.

"Stan, I think we both know this really isn't how you feel about me." I let out a sigh as I sit on the couch.

"What do feelings matter, baby? This is primal. This is natural instinct." Stan lets out a growl and I feel my eyes widen.

"You're actually scaring me, Stanley."

He smirks and takes a seat on the cough beside me, lifting his arm up to rest it on my shoulder. "I can take foreplay, but only for so long."

"Kat?" A guilty voice calls from the door.

"In the living room!" I call out, knowing Mabel had returned. She looks up with sad brown eyes as she approaches me.

"Are you sure this is what you want? He'll go back to how he was if I give him this potion." She holds up a sparkly black liquid.

"Yes, I'm sure." I state firmly, rising from the couch and letting Stan's arm drop.

"But he won't love you!" She cries, and I shake my head.

"That's fine, Mabel. I don't want this."

"But you could be together!" Mabel continues to argue, and I find myself getting more irritated with each excuse.

"Mabel, I said I don't want this, so fix it!" I say, a bit snippy.

"But WHY?" She insists, and I feel an anger pulse through me like I hadn't felt before. I just wanted it to go back to normal, I didn't enjoy how he was treating me, it didn't feel like Stanley at all. It was all so fake, I hated every minute of it. When I thought about it more and more, it should've been obvious...

"Because I don't love him!"

Mabel's reaction is almost as stunned as my own. Did those words come out of my mouth? But, it was true, wasn't it? Now that I've seen how he treats me if he loved me like that... I don't want that. I've always loved being the person he takes care of. Being the person who looks out for him just as much as he looked out for me. I loved Stanley, but... I loved him like he loved me. As a friend. No, as a sibling.

"What are you saying, toots?" Stan reaches out and grabs my hand, and it really sinks in. How could I ever think I wanted this?

"I don't... love him." I say again, a new found clarity and confidence in my words. "So change him back, please."

My firm command makes Mabel nod, and she pops open a soda can before pouring a bit of the black liquid in.

"Here, Grunkle Stan. It cures broken hearts." He takes the soda can from her, but grumbles something about how 'whiskey can too' before downing the beverage.

He comes to rather quickly, and rather unamused as well.

"Mabel?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't you ever touch my food again."

"... Yes, Grunkle Stan."

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

I found myself downstairs later that evening, hiding from the music outside in the almost silence of the basement. Stan groans as he enters the lab, pouring himself a cup of coffee and taking a seat in the second office chair we just purchased.

"How are you feeling?" I ask, my own mug clutched tightly in my hands.

"Like I have a terrible hangover." He pinches the bridge of his nose, slightly pushing up his glasses before looking up at me and offering a sympathetic look. "What about you?"

I chuckle and look down at the cloud of milk swirling in my coffee.

"A lot better, actually." I let out a sigh. "I'm sorry I've been so incredibly naive, Stanley. I hurt us both by being such a fool."

Stan waves the thought out of the air. "Listen, if there's one thing I've learned in my years, it's that love is confusing, and more than likely, you'll get married one night in Vegas and realize what a big mistake you've made six hours later and head for the hills." He furrows his brow. "Where was I going with this?"

"You don't blame me?" I suggest, and Stan snaps his fingers and points at me.

"Yeah, that. You're still figuring out what you want, and that's just as confusing as everything else. You aren't to blame for confusing how you feel."

I take a deep breath, offering Stan a smile before sipping my coffee.

"Besides," he takes a sip of his own before smirking. "I'm charming enough to confuse anyone about their sexuality." We share a laugh, and Stan reaches a hand out to pat my knee. "There's somebody out there for ya', kid, you just haven't found him yet."

I go to correct Stanley for calling me 'kid' again, but am interrupted by the alarm on the portal sounding.

"Oh shit, we're almost out of power." I put the machine back into a low scan and go to grab the radiation suit. Stan holds out a hand.

"No worries, I got it." He stands up. "Listen, I've been... seeing some agents lately."

"You WHAT?"

"They've been keeping a close eye on this town, Kat." He pulls on the radiation suit. "We don't have much time left before they figure out what's going on, so... We need to put it into full power."

"What?" I shake my head, "No, Stan, then we'll start having gravity interference. The portal isn't stable, what you're suggesting could... well, it could tear open a rift in our whole universe. Anything could leak in!"

Stan turns to the door to the portal room, neglecting to look at me. "Then let's just hope it's my brother that does." He swiftly throws the helmet on and steps into the other room before I can argue.

What he's suggesting... it could get us both into a lot of trouble. It could get the entire world into a lot of trouble, from what I can tell from Stanford's journals.

Was this really all worth the risk? Would this all work out in the end, and would Stan really be happy if we managed to pull through? Or is him willing to risk the fate of the universe a sign that he really isn't what he seems?

~-~-~-~-~-~


	10. Portal Man

~-~-~-~-~-~

At 4 am, we located the sector that held Stanford Pines. The problem at hand was that to get Stanford Pines out of the portal, he'd have to be able to find the rift in his current dimension to leave. We had no idea whether or not Stanford was even alive, whether he was blind or crippled or... if he even wanted to come back.

Stanley was determined to leave the portal open for as long as he could before it would permanently damage the universe, according to Stanford's journals, that was 18 hours. 18 hours of gravity interference, world wide anomalies, and the potential tear in the universe and destruction of the town.

All for his brother. His family.

I can only hope Stanford Pines is worth all this.

"We might start to notice the gravity anomalies the second you put it on high power, Stan." I look nervously at the overly tired man before me, preparing to switch the machine to full power.

"Can it, pointdexter, I'm not giving up now." His fist slams the button down, causing the portal's energy sectors to glow, and the entire portal to spin as it opens the rift between dimensions. Gravity is affected instantaneously, I start to notice the coffee from my mug drift upwards in the air.

I fear for everything that may happen in the next 18 hours.

~-~-~-~-~-~

The rooftop of the Mystery Shack was peaceful-- mostly for the twins, who were unaware of the ticking time bomb in their basement.

It probably would've been peaceful for me, too, if I could stop staring at my watch. They say paranoia strikes deep, and today, more than any other day thus far, I'm most aware of my surroundings.

As the kids set off another firework, I feel Stan rest a hand on my shoulder. "Do me a favor, Kat." His voice is low, but stern. The twins don't notice us above the noise of the fireworks. "If something happens, anything happens-- to me, make sure you watch the kids. You can't tell them about the plan. They musn't know."

My green eyes look to his, not expecting to see pleading in his expression. "I know it's for their own safety, that you don't want them involved but... The guilt will be rough. I'll do it, but for their sake, not for yours."

Stanley gives a nod before approaching the kids again with a smile. "Hey kids, maybe we should clean this mess up, eh?"

"With water balloons?" Mabel suggests. Stan gives a blank face and a shrug.

"I don't see why not." The twins let out a cheer and run downstairs, I take a minute on the rooftop to look at the surrounding forest. I could hear the surveillance in the distance. I could hear the camera motions, the radio contacts, the whispering.

They were coming. All I know is that I need to protect the portal.

"Stan," I stop him before he heads down the ladder, he glances to make sure the kids are out of earshot before giving me a nod. "I'm going to lock myself in the lab."

"I need you to stay with the kids." Stan says firmly.

"If I go, no one else can keep things running. I've got these powers now, Stanley. I'll fight them off to the end, but I need to be down there." I cross my arms. "Don't act like you wouldn't totally bust out of jail, anyways."

He gives me a small smirk before looking down at his watch. He furrows his brow before looking up to me, he gives me a nod. He goes to head down the ladder again, and I feel my heart drop to my stomach.

"Stan," I call again, and he sighs before turning around. I catch him off guard as I wrap him in a hug, burying my face into his chest. "Promise me we'll work this out."

His arms rest on my back, and he pulls me in tighter to the hug. "I can't promise anything, kid... unless it's a promise to write letters." He pulls away, but keeps his hands on my shoulders. "You promise me you won't get hurt."

"I can't promise anything... unless it's a promise to post your bail. Again." Stan lets out a hearty laugh before ruffling my hair and heading down the ladder. I could hear the cars approaching down the dirt road to the mystery shack.

It was time to lock myself in.

~-~-~-~-~

The helicopters could be heard over the sounds of the portal downstairs. I felt miserable, especially hearing Mabel cry... hearing Stan cry.

I couldn't leave the lab. Someone had to be down here to shut it off in case of an emergency, of if Stanford came out early. Someone had to protect all the work we've done, our last hope of rescuing Stanford Pines.

I had to let my own tears fall silently. The truth was this was tearing me apart. I loved this family, a family that even someone like me could feel apart of... and it was falling to pieces outside the home above me. I could hear the agents storming the rooms, searching for any sign of the machine that was causing the anomalies..

Hopefully they never look behind the vending machine. Hopefully the never decide to bomb the house.

Can vampires survive bombings?

Probably not.

As the anomalies grow stronger and stronger at the five hour mark, I find myself choosing to float instead of anchoring myself down. At least my vampire abilities could stop my body from aching every time the anomalies ended. I continued to stare at the count down clock and listen intently, shocked when the sounds of the twins' footsteps could be heard upstairs again.

What the hell were these kids doing?

"These are fake ID's, Mabel!" I can hear Dipper say. I want to yell. I want to help. I want to let them know the absolute truth, so that they never looked for a bad side to Stanely Pines.

He was an innocent man, and they were beginning to doubt it.

"Wait what's this code? I've never seen anything like this before..."

They were going to come downstairs, I knew it. What would I have to say? I glance at the clock.. 15 minutes left. I'd have to do something to stop them from assuming... from suspecting. As the helicopters take off, leaving the shack, I begin to fear the worst. I look back to the portal-- 12 minutes.

The elevator is being lowered, I can hear it behind me. I choose to float back down to my chair and take a seat, preparing to fight til the end.

I know the twins, and Soos for that matter, weren't expecting to see me sitting in the lab chair. I know I was now under their scrutiny. I also knew that I couldn't reveal to them anything about the true nature of this portal.

"Kat? What's... what's going on here?" Mabel, sweet innocent little Mabel. I can tell she wants to believe the best, but her eyes flying around the room make it obvious she isn't sure what to believe.

"Kids, I know you thought I came here just to rekindle with Stan..." I stand from my chair, look to the portal, and then back to the kids. 5 minutes. I had to keep stalling. "But the truth is, he asked me here... because I'm the only one who could help him."

"You want to help him destroy the world?!" Dipper cried, but I shake my head furiously.

"That's not at all what's going on here, Dipper!"

"Then tell us what is." He crosses his arms, a fierce look that I wouldn't expect from a twelve year old boy.

A sigh escapes my lips. "Kids, if I get you involved with this... you could end up in jail, too. Hell, you could end up dead." My eyes flash back to the clock. "Stan asked me to protect you, and to protect everything we've worked for... I'm sorry, I can't be the one to tell you."

"It's... It's still Stan, and he still loves us.. this can't be bad, right?" Mabel approaches the desk behind me, grabbing a framed picture of the twins. As Dipper approaches the table, I feel a headache arise as I see I've left the journals out in plain sight.

"The other two journals? ALL THIS TIME, STAN HAD THEM?" He grows increasingly frustrated, before turning around and beating his hands down on my waist. "YOU HAD THEM. You knew! You knew this whole time! Was anything he said to us-- YOU said to us-- real!? WHY DO YOU HAVE THOSE?"

"Maybe Mr. Pines is the author?"

If only you knew.

"Or.. Kat?"

"Or maybe they STOLE THEM from the author, and Stan is a master criminal, and this machine is his master plan!" Dipper flips open the journals to the bookmarked pages, displaying the diagram of the portal for everyone to see.

"There's no 'master plan', Dipper! Please, you must understand--"

"I don't want to hear ANYTHING from you!" Dipper snaps.

"We are TRYING to protect you!" Dipper shakes his head before flipping on his blacklight, displaying the hidden messages across Stanford's journals, warning about the rifts the portal could create.

"If the clock ever reaches zero... our universe is doomed, the machine can tear the universe apart."

The trio looks up at the clock above my head.

"It's not what you think, it's been reset--" I argue, but Dipper shoves me straight back into my chair.

"The agents were right, we have to shut it down!"

"DIPPER NO!" I cry, launching up from my seat and grabbing onto the boy. "There's radioactive material in there, it can melt skin straight off the bone!"

"AND WHAT ABOUT OUR UNIVERSE KAT, DO YOU CARE AT ALL?!"

"It's not what it seems, Dipper!"

"You keep saying that!" He kicks my shin roughly, "But I don't see you proving it! Maybe YOU aren't what you seem!" I'm left for a moment in shock, and the trio pushes past me, straight into the room with the portal, where the highest anomalies have been occurring for the past 12 hours.

"Please! It isn't safe in here, you musn't do this!"

With less than a minute left, and everything riding on these final moments to trigger Stanford to jump through the rift, I have to find it in me to pull the kids away from the manual override.

"I'm so sorry!" I cry, pulling Mabel up off the ground and away from the override switch. She turns it last minute, and the lever in front of the portal activates. That lever's movement would shut down the whole project.

I couldn't let this happen to Stanley. I couldn't let him lose his brother, not again.

Dipper races to the center, and I nearly drop Mabel to chase after Dipper. "This all stops now!"

"DON'T TOUCH THAT BUTTON!" I'm every kind of relieved to see Stanley in the doorway.

"Stanley, you need to tell them!" I call out, struggling against Mabel fighting me in my arms.

"Dipper, just back away. Please don't press that shut-down button, you gotta trust me."

"And I should trust you WHY? After you stole radioactive waste? After you lied to us all summer? I don't even know who you are!" Dipper points his finger at the man who had been taking care of him all summer, and Mabel finally breaks free of my hold.

"Look, I know this all seems nuts, but I need that machine to stay on! If you just let me explain--"

The watches beep again, triggering the last bit of the countdown. The portal would release it's largest sweep of the dimension, triggering the largest and longest gravity anomaly-- all before shutting down.

This was our last chance.

"Mabel, hurry! Shut it down!"

I couldn't let this happen.

"Mabel PLEASE!" I cry. "If you hit that button, if you end this-- everything I've worked for will be for nothing!" She gave me a frown, but made no attempt to stop. "DAMMIT, STANLEY, TELL THEM THE TRUTH!"

"Mabel, wait! STOP!" Soos jumps Stan, and I begin to feel helpless. "What are you doing, Soos?"

"Sorry Mr. Pines, if that is your real name, but I have a new mission now-- protecting these kids!"

"Soos! That's exactly what we're trying to do! Can't you see how dangerous this is!?"

"Soos, you idiot, let me go!"

"MABEL, SHUT IT DOWN!"

"You can't Mabel, you gotta trust me!"

"Grunkle Stan..." The girl clutched onto the switch looks desperate... she looks confused. "I don't even know if you're my grunkle... I wanna believe you, but--"

"THE TRUTH, STANLEY!" I shout again.

"Listen to me-- Remember this morning when I said I wanted to tell you guys something?" A blast from the charged portal sends anyone who isn't grounded back into the walls. "I wanted to say that you're gonna hear some bad things about me, and some of them are true-- but trust me: Everything I've worked for, everything I care about-- it's all for this family."

"Mabel, what if he's lying? This thing could destroy the universe! Listen to your head!"

"Look into my eyes, Mabel, you really think I'm a bad guy?!"

"I wouldn't do this Mabel, I wouldn't do this to hurt anyone!" I add.

"They're LYING! SHUT IT DOWN, NOW!"

"Mabel, please!"

The last ten second countdown echoes loudly throughout the room. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, hoping to god she doesn't ruin this... Stanford Pines might be the only man who could prevent Stanley and I from going to prison.

"Grunkle Stan... I trust you."

"MABEL ARE YOU CRAZY?! WE'RE ALL GONNA GET KILLED!"

The final anomaly. The largest. It hits the Earth with so much kinetic energy that it sends shocks throughout your body. Everything is glowing, nothing can be seen but white. Nothing can be heard but the final sweep of the portal. Then ringing. Just ringing for a while. When the anomaly ends, when we all hit the floor-- things slowly come back. Hearing, and then vision.

The portal still glowed-- and then silhouetted against it-- a figure.

The anomaly-- the real one. The man of actual mystery-- Stanford Pines.

He steps forward, his face covered by goggles and a large black scarf. He bends down to pick up journal 3, dropped by Dipper during the crisis. He places his hand on the journal-- and that's when I see it-- what makes him the anomaly.

6 fingers.

"Who is that?" Dipper asks, utterly perplexed from his spot on the floor.

"The author of the journals..." Stan whispers. "My brother."

"Stanford Pines..." I whisper, my heart leaping as the man reaches up, removing his goggle and scarf.

My god, was he beautiful.

~-~-~-~-~-~


	11. Science Shivers

~-~-~-~-~-~

If we're speaking scientifically here, human emotions are vastly complex things. I've kind of come to terms with the fact that my lack of stable human relationships when I was younger has led to overwhelming feelings now that I do have constant interactions.

I'm essentially experiencing things that only teenagers should feel, all because my mom neglected to see that she made me a rather antisocial child. I don't blame her entirely, it's sort of my fault for never wanting to get involved with anyone.

But bloody hell, do I want to get involved with Stanford Pines.

It's hard enough dealing with the fact that I find Stanley handsome, but in a platonic 'I'm really not in love with you' kind of way. Now I'm ten seconds into meeting his twin brother and I'm beginning to wonder if he has an inter-dimensional girlfriend. I hate this. I hate hormones, I hate my body, and I hate that someone 20 some odd years older than me can be so fucking attractive.

"Finally, after all these long years of waiting... you're actually here, brother!" Stanley begins to approach Stanford with open arms, but the look on Stanford's face is anything but friendly. The fist he lays into Stanley's jaw isn't that friendly either.

Six fingers.

I can't get over the six fingers.

"Ow! What the heck was that for!?"

"This was an insanely risky move, restarting the portal! Didn't you read my warnings?!" Fuck. His voice was like smooth waves over tide pools.

"Warnings schwarmings! How's about maybe a thanks for saving you from what appears to be... I dunno, some kind of Sci-fi sideburn dimension?"

"Thank you?! You really think I'm gonna thank you after what you did thirty years ago!?"

Woah. Talk about grudges.

"WHAT I DID?! WHY YOU UNGRATEFUL!"

Stanley leaps at his brother, who side steps out of the way before pinning his brother to the ground.

"BOYS! BOYS!" I shout, kneeling down to help Stanley up. "Honestly, is the radioactive room really the best place to be doing this?"

"Hi, uhm, Mabel here... Quick question. What the heck is going on here?!" Stanford quickly composes himself, fixing his glasses and rising up off the floor.

"Stan, you didn't tell me there were children down here."

"They're your family, pointdexter, Shermie's grandkids." The look that comes over his face makes my heart melt just the slightest.

"I have a niece and nephew?" He kneels down to make eye contact with Mabel and Dipper. "Greetings! Do kids still say greetings? I haven't been in this dimension for a really long time..."

Mabel looks down at his hand in awe. "Woah, six fingered handshake... it's a full finger friendlier than normal!"

Stanford chuckles to himself, and I glance over to see the pure look of disbelief on Dipper's face. He seemed slightly horrified.

"I can't believe it! You're the author of the journals!"

"You've read my journals?" Stanford retrieves the first journal from his coat pocket and a soft smile rests on his lips.

Dipper paces back and forth, rambling on and on about how excited he is to finally meet the author.

"I've read them, too." I finally gain the attention of the beautiful blue eyed man. "Your work is fantastic, far beyond anything I saw during my time at UCLA. You're quite fascinating, Stanford Pines."

"I'm flattered. It seems you know about me, but I'll introduce myself none the less." He holds out his hand for a shake, and I cant help the blood from rushing to my cheeks as I reach out and grab onto his hand. "Stanford Pines."

"Katherine Bishop." Stanford quickly loses his smile as out hands touch, and he grabs onto my palm and looks down at it.

"You're freezing... did you... get bit?"

I quickly retract my hand.

"..Yeah."

"Sorry, I didn't mean any harm, just curiosity." He scratches the back of his head before dropping his hand. "Are you.. my niece too, or?"

"No!" I say a bit too quickly, embarrassed by my outburst. "Ah, no I-I... I'm just a friend of Stanley's. He called me over from doing post-grad work to come help... with the portal."

His face hardens, and it kills my heart.

"Stan, is there anyone else that knows about this portal?"

"No!" Stan waves his hands, but my stern look in his direction has him changing his tune. "Well... also maybe the entire US Government."

"WHAT?!" He brings a hand up to his temple and lets out a sigh. "Okay, it's alright... we've got a while before they find this room. We just need to lay low and think of a plan."

"Well," Mabel begins, bouncing on her toes. "Looks like we're gonna be here for a while, who wants to tell us their entire mysterious backstory?"

"Yes, I have some questions about all of this myself, Stanley!"

"Stanley?" Dipper looks over at his great uncle, formerly known to him as 'Stanford', the owner of the Mystery Shack.

"But... you're name is Stanford." Mabel finishes.

If looks could kill, the one actual Stanford was giving Stanley right now... Well, let's just say it wouldn't end well for Stanley.

"WAIT, You took MY name?! What have you been doing all these years, you knucklehead?!"

He was even hot when he was mad.

"Yeah Grunkle Stan, you owe us some answers! What's the deal with this portal? Why did you keep this a secret?"

"And what happened between you and your brother?"

"I'm hoping all of this aligns exactly with my fanfiction." Soos crosses his arms, and I glance over at Stanley, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Told you you should've been honest."

"Shut up, Kat, you were in on all of this. It's your head, too." Stan narrow his eyes at me, and I shrug. "Alright, I know I have a lot of explaining to do..."

Soos, Dipper, and Mabel all take a seat in front of Stanley as he begins to explain what led us up to this moment. Curiosity gets the better of me, and I find myself approaching Stanford, who's both surprised and confused by my demeanor.

"I uhm.. well, I just wanted to let you know that.. When I was a lot younger, right after the portal fiasco, my mom asked Stanley to take care of me for a short while. I read pretty much every book you owned, all your math works, all your paranormal research, even the stuff just lying around on the shelves. I listened to all your records and I just... You've always been such a mystery, so it's nice to finally meet you." I wring my hands together nervously behind my back. "And uh, also, sorry it took so long. Stan didn't call til he had all of the journals, I've done my best in the past few weeks to get it running. I know you're not exactly happy with the outcome, but, I did this for Stanley, and Stanley did it so the twins over there would know the missing piece of their family."

"I just don't understand why you ignored all the warnings. This project was unstable--"

"I know, it could create a tear in the universe, a whole rift.. but," I glance back at Stanley, who seems to have a small smile on his face while he was storytelling to the kids. "I think there was a tear in his heart with you gone. Even if you're mad at him, he'll still be happy you're home safe." I look back to the wide eyed man in front of me, and a grin plays across my face. "I think we're all happy you're here."

"Can I ask what you studied at UCLA?" Stanford takes a seat on the floor, and I find myself sitting beside him.

"Biochemical engineering... most of my grad work was on gene splicing." I look over to the portal, still shorting out just a little bit. "But it wasn't really ever fulfilling. They don't really have a major to study the paranormal, so I just went with the closest thing I could find. Honestly, coming out to Gravity Falls has been the most interesting experience in my entire life. I honestly could've skipped school altogether and been happier out here."

Stanford grabs his journal and jots something down. "Gravity Falls truly is a hot spot for anomalies." More like a spot for hot anomalies.

"Wait wait wait," Mabel turns around and faces Standford and I. She gives me a wry look before blank facing and looking at Ford. "Did you wind up going to your dream school?"

Stanford narrows his eyes. "Not exactly."

"What does that mean?" Dipper questions, and Ford remains silent. I lean towards him a little bit, putting my mouth close to his ear.

"I'm so impressed by the man in front of me, the school means nothing." I can see his the blood rise to his face before I give him a small nudge. "Go ahead."

Stanford lets out a sigh. "I went to Backupsmore University." He rubs the back of his neck. "In a place like that, I had to work twice as hard. Luckily, that's what I do best. I went from undergrad to PhD three years ahead of schedule, wrote a thesis that was nationally ranked, and was awarded an enormous grant for my own scientific research."

 

He gives me the science shivers all over my body.


	12. Extra Fingers

~-~-~-~-~

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, talking.. it's coming from downstairs!"

I look over at Stanley, Who gives me a nod. I stand up quickly and brush myself off. "We need to get out of here."

"Too late, the agents are coming for us!' Stanley panics.

"What do we do?"

"Oh man, I was so spellbound by your dramatic tale, I forgot all about those dudes."

"Wait-- Forget!" Dipper rips open his backpack and frantically searches through it. "I think I know a way we might be able to defeat those agents!" Dipper pulls the memory gun from out of the pack and I feel myself instinctively hiss at it. The group raises an eyebrow at me.

I clear my throat. "Sorry, I uh... really hate that thing."

"Of course! I don't know how you got a hold of one of these things, but this is perfect!" Stanford marches back into the lab, and I find myself chasing after his heels. "If I can just amplify the signal to a radio headset frequency... There, now everyone plug your ears! Get down! Now!" There's a shrieking noise that tears through the area, and then silence. We all make our way upstairs, and follow Stanford outside.

"Stand down, gentlemen! I've been sent with the latest intel from Washington. According to this very real report, the power surges in Gravity Falls were actually due to radiation from an unreported meteor shower. A total embarrassment for your whole department! Luckily, I'm here to take this mess off your hands. But I'll need all of your... floppy disks? And... uh.. 8 tracks."

"Uh.. everything about this case is contained on this drive."

"Well, what are you waiting for? A kiss on the cheek?! Get out of here before I have your butts court marshaled!"

I have never wanted anything so badly. Never wanted anyone so badly.

"Great Uncle Stanford, that was amazing!" Mabel shouts as the military men pack up and move out.

"Thank you kids, but uh.. please, call me Ford."

"Okay, Great Uncle Ford.. could we uh... ask a maybe a few billion questions about the mysteries of Gravity Falls?!"

"Alright kids, it's been a long day, Ford and I have got a lot of stuff to talk about, why don't you hit the hay?"

Dipper goes to argue, but I kneel down to whisper to him.

"Hey, don't you think they look awful tired?" Dipper looks up at his great uncles before giving me a small nod. "They'll probably be a lot more energetic after a good night's sleep, more willing to answer questions, okay?"

Dipper sighs. "Okay."

"Goodnight, kiddo. Sorry about.. having to lie to you and stuff. We really only did it to stop this mess, but I guess it made everything worse." I purse my lips and Dipper shakes his head.

"I'm not mad at you, Kat."

"Neither am I." Whispers Mabel "Especially now that you have chances with Grunkle number 2!"

I lightly punch Mabel in the arm.

But I also kind of hoped she was right.

"Get to bed, nerds."

The kids run off and I rise off the porch, looking at the two brothers in front of me. "Maybe we should all sit down with some coffee, I think we have a lot to discuss."

"Jeez, what have you done to my house, Stan?" Ford looks around at all the displays of the Mystery Shack as we walk back inside.

"I had to pay your mortgage somehow." Stan shrugged, taking a seat at the kitchen table. I turn the coffee maker on, taking a seat beside Stan before Ford sits across from us. "Man, we both look old."

"You look like dad." Ford says with a small smirk.

"Oh, gross! Don't say that!" The two chuckle lightly before Stanford gets a serious look on his face.

"Okay, Stanley, here's the deal... you can stay here for the summer to watch the kids, I'll stay down in the basement and try to contain any remaining damage. But when the summer is over, you give me my house back, you give me my name back, and this mystery shack junk is over forever, you got it?"

The mood changed so quickly, it made made my eyes water up almost instantly.

"You really aren't gonna thank me, are you?" Stan asks, no real tone to his voice other than disappointment. "Fine. Stay away from the kids, I don't want them in danger, cause as far as I'm concerned, they're the only family I have left." Stanley rises up from his chair and storms out of the room. I remain at the table, staring at it's surface blankly and feeling a tear run down my cheek.

Nobody deserved this.

"Sorry you have to witness all this. Perhaps it's better if you head home for the night." Stanford addresses me, but I can't move. I can't really speak.

I didn't think it would all be over this quickly... I didn't know... that he'd be like this.

I never realized my role would be so unimportant.

"Katherine?"

"Yes." I look up at Ford, who's surprised to see my tears.

"Did I offend you?" His eyebrows furrow, and the coffee pot dings to let us know it's done brewing.

"I sold my apartment.. to afford the tickets here."

There's a silence that sweeps through the room, and I can tell I've made him uncomfortable.

"I can just go to the hotel, I just... I didn't think it'd all end here." I rise from my chair, wipe my eyes and do my best to give Ford a smile. "It was a dream, meeting you finally... Goodbye, Stanford." I make it to the door frame, before turning around to look at Ford again. "I'm just gonna.. go say goodbye to Stan and the kids. Sorry, I'll be gone soon, I promise." My caramel hair flicks back over my shoulder as I turn around and head upstairs, first knocking on Stanley's door. "Hey... I need to see you." My voice cracks, and the doors open so fast it pulls the breath from my lungs.

And I'm in tears again.

"I uhm... I've gotta go find a hotel."

"Kat," Stanley reaches up and wipes a tear from my cheek with his thumb.

"I just, I don't want to say goodbye really, could you... could you come get lunch with me tomorrow, or at least come with me to the airport?" Stan's arms wrap around my shoulders, and I feel myself hiccup before shoving my face into his shoulder.

"Of course I will." His grip tightens around me. "He wasn't always like this-- it's my fault, I'm sorry, kid."

"My fault for getting my hopes up." I whisper. "I wanted him to be the hero I envisioned from his work but... I'm a fool."

"We both are." I pull myself away from Stan's arms and take a deep breath.

"You could move in with me, you know... after the summer." Stanley chuckles at the mere suggestion.

"You'd want to live with an old git like me?"

"You're my best friend, Stanley." He reaches up and wipes another tear from my eye.

"Stanley, can we talk?" Ford's appearance at the top of the stairs startled both of us, Stan narrows his eyes at his brother before looking back at me.

"It's okay, I'm gonna go see the kids."

"Don't break their hearts, Kat." He responds, and I shake my head.

"They'll be close to me in California, anyways." I pull myself from Stanley and head up to the attic. I tiptoe over and slowly open the door to their room, finding both of the twins sound asleep in their beds. I feel my eyes soften and I make my way over to Dipper, pulling the bedsheets and blankets up over his body before giving him a kiss on the forehead.

He'll grow up to be the hero I imagined, I know that.

As I approach Mabel, I realize I never gave her the sleepover I promised. That thought weighs heavy on my chest, because she deserved better. Really, everyone here did. I know this wont be goodbye forever, but my mind makes mountains of molehills. It feels like I'm losing a whole piece of my heart just by having to spend my nights somewhere else.

I lean down and place a kiss on Mabel's forehead, reeling back rather quickly as I feel my eyes start to water up again.

"Dammit." I whisper, wiping my eyes. I'm shocked to see that they're still flowing, that I'm still crying. I never cried. Not when my mom left, not when she passed...

But always when I left Stanley.

And now I was leaving so much more.

And it hurt.

"God dammit..." I mutter again, holding my sleeves to my eyes and taking a seat on the floor. I was so scared of waking up the twins that I tried to contain the shaking feeling my body was trying to emit. I couldn't let them see me like this.

I wanted to eat my words from earlier. I can't say I really blame Stanford for resenting Stanley so much, and because of that, I'm sure he's not in the best mood having Stanley in his house. I just thought... I had hoped this would be such a happy reunion. Everyone deserved that happy moment. Stanley deserved the weight off his chest, the kids deserved the full truth, and I... deserved the hero I so desperately wanted to meet. I can't let that image slip away just because he was in a bad mood, he was still the author of the journals, still the creator of the portal, still an absolute genius...

and still very beautiful.

"Kat." I look to the doorway, where Stanford and Stanley both stand, giving me a rather concerned look. I rise from the floor and wipe my eyes again, finding my feet too wobbly to walk, so I simply use my freak abilities to float out the door.

"Sorry, I know. I'll get my stuff-"

"No, Kat." Stanford sighs. "If I had any idea what your situation was like, I wouldn't have ushered you out. I'm sorry for that. Stanley told me that he asked you down here promptly for my sake, and that you even gave him money for your time here. That's enough for me... I'd like for you to stay as long as you need."

"What?"

"He had a change of heart." Stanley crosses his arms with a smirk. "Better accept the offer before he changes his mind."

"But-- Are you really sure?" Stanford gives a small smile and a nod, and I reach my hands out to grab his. "I owe you the world. Let me make you dinner! You must be hungry." I begin to drag the older male behind me down the stairs, and I can hear Stanley chuckle in my haste. I look back and see a smirk on his face, and my stomach grows rather warm.

He must know.

I just... don't really care.

Even if he just pities me, even if it's another dead end, I couldn't stop my interest in Stanford.

"I haven't had a home cooked meal in a long time... you're right, this will be nice." Stanford's sharp blue eyes catch mine, and I instinctively start holding my breath, afraid that if I let out a little air, I might let a few choice words slip out with it. He puts his free hand up to his chin, and I realize I still have his hand in my own.

I choose not to let go.

"You should probably make something red, though, I'd hate to eat alone." I feel my breath shake as I let it out, I've never been this nervous around anyone before in my entire life.

He really was a mystery. Why did he have to make me feel like this?

"You won't ever have to." I whisper. I wish I could eat my words as he flinches, pauses, and his cheeks turn red. I quickly drop his hand and retreat to the kitchen. "Is penne alla vodka okay?" I tell myself not to turn around as I hear his footsteps approach the doorway. I tell myself that the look on his face would break my heart. I tell myself to ignore it.

But I can't. So I look.

"That sounds perfect."

And he was smiling. His eyes were half lidded and made me think of sunsets on shorelines, softly burning candles, and rose petals on bedsheets. The red in his cheeks made my throat beg and burn for just one taste of his sweetness. His body leaning on the doorframe?

Made me think of all the things he could do with those extra fingers.

There's nothing that can stop this feelings. I'm so screwed.

~-~-~-~-~


	13. Age Gap

Having dinner with a total stranger is normally just awkward, but in this case...

It was totally terrifying.

Partly because I'm the one being absolutely awkward here, and partly because I was so god damned nervous it felt like my heart could palpitate out of my chest at any waking moment.

I needed to stop staring. But those eyes, so blue. It was hypnotizing. I shouldn't even be so drawn to him. I wish he'd take off that damn red turtleneck before my instincts kick in and I rip it off with my teeth.

"When did you get bit?" Ford's sudden question caused me to flinch, dropping the pasta off my fork.

"Uhm.. a week or so ago." My hand reaches up and touches at the side of my neck. "I don't really remember much. I got into a fight with Stanley, stormed out of the house and... well, you know about the blind eye society." I look up at him, and his brow furrows.

"They're still operating?"

The grin that comes to my face must be quite devious, because Ford starts to chuckle almost instantly. "Not anymore." I respond, and Ford looks back down to his plate with a smile.

"Good. The world needs to know the truth about these things. You can't protect yourself if you live your life unaware." He lifts up a hand, running his fingers through his graying hair. I feel my teeth slide over my lip and bite down. His colors were all so beautiful. "Why were you fighting with Stan? Aren't you two kind of a thing?"

"What?" I snap out of my staring, my face reddening. "N-no not at all. Stan's handsome and everything, but. He sees me as a kid, and I can't find it in me to be with someone who can't treat me like an adult." I reach over and grab the glass that held my wine, relishing in the feeling that the deep red color sends throughout my body.

"There is a pretty significant age gap there, you know." Ford replies. I lean my elbow on the table and rest my face in my hand, letting out a sigh.

"Age doesn't protect you from love, but love can protect you from aging." I take another slow sip of my wine, choosing to stare at the glass for a change. "I don't think I see age, not in the way others do. I didn't grow up with someone whispering expectations into my ears, I grew up taking care of myself, by myself. I don't know what I'm supposed to find attractive, what other people my age find attractive, but I know what I do now. Respect, integrity, intelligence. Vivid colors that surround them and everything they do, how they sound when they whisper. The faces they make when they're tired, every expression that overcomes them when they get overwhelmed, the sounds their feet make when they're trying to sneak around, and the music they play when they're alone and think nobody hears it. Love, to me, has never been about physical traits like age or masculinity-- It has been, and always will be, about sensory. Nothing is more captivating than the impressions someone creates on the earth."

When I pull my eyes from the stemware, I realize that I've rambled on for a moment, and Ford is wide eyed and silent.

"Sorry, that was a bit much. My mind works faster than my mouth, sometimes." I place my glass back down before rising and collecting the empty plates, placing them into the dishwasher.

"You're very wise, Katherine."

I close the dishwasher, watching Ford rise from his seat before our eyes meet.

"You can call me Kat." I tuck my hands into my jean pockets, bouncing on my heels a bit. "No need to be formal, I'm pretty comfortable with you."

"Kat it is, then." Stanford clears his throat. "I have to ask, if.. you're not seeing Stanley, where have you been sleeping?"

Oh god.

"Uh.. We put a spare bed in your room." Here I am, about to be kicked to the curb again. "But honestly, I don't really sleep as much since turning, so-"

"No, that's alright. I can sleep on the couch." Stanford turns on his heel.

"Or your room... you know, i-in your bed." He casts an unreadable glance over his shoulder at me, and I nervously tuck some hair behind my ear. "I'm really okay with you being in the same room. It's not a big deal, especially because you really haven't been in your own bed in so long, I wouldn't want to do anything to impose on you."

Earth to Katherine. You're rambling. Again.

"Are you sure?"

He pushes his glasses up on his face, and I'm worried that my pause has him thinking i'm reconsidering, when really, I'm just intrigued as to why he's still wearing cracked glasses.

"Yes. We're both adults. I can handle it."

He gives me the smallest of smiles, enough to set a fire in the pit of my stomach. "I'll go shower then, give you time to get comfortable and such."

As he walks away, I bring a hand up to my chest, both to make sure I'm still breathing and to make sure my heart is still beating. His long coat trailing after his body and the hint of his deep blue jeans that peak out as the coat sways makes my fingers dig deep into my shirt where my hand rests on my chest.

Before he steps into the bathroom, he glances back to where I'm standing, and I realize I've been caught staring, with no doubt a romantic look in my eyes. I rip myself from his view and hurry to the room I'd be sharing tonight.

What the hell was I getting myself into?

~-~-~-~-~-~

After dropping some of Ford's pajamas in front of the bathroom door for him to access, I found myself sitting on my bed, headphones on, just trying to relax.

If I took the headphones off, I could hear the shower water running, and if I heard it... my mind would go to places my heart couldn't handle.

I couldn't find myself wanting to stay in the room. There was a nagging feeling in the back of my head, frustration that I didn't double check that everything in the lab was shut off, and no radiation was leaking anywhere. I took my headphones off. I had to go downstairs and look, or else I'd never be able to sleep.

My bare feet made each stair creak on the way down, a sound to distract me from the shower upstairs. I reached the lab, my heart dropping as I really took the time to notice what all the gravity interference did to the computers and equipment. I fix what I can, plugging back in the important stuff and double check the Geiger counter to make sure the lab is safe to be in. I clean up some spilled coffee, sweep up the broken mug, and lean back on the table to review my work.

This wouldn't be my lab to work in anymore, but I owed it to Ford to take care of the mess I created. I'd get him all new equipment, for sure. Everything was pretty outdated.

I glance around some of the equipment, my eyes catching on a desk chair tipped over by the door to the sound proof room. I walk over, picking up the chair and peeking into the room, scared to see what the damage did to the piano.

But everything in the room was fine.

Closer inspection of the bed and the piano showed that both the things were actually mounted to the floor, probably a precaution Ford made when he recognized how strong the gravity anomalies were. I let out a sigh of relief and drag my fingers over the top of the piano, knowing full well my body was aching to sit down and play.

Simple chords, because my mind was too clouded to do anything else.

You were a vision in the morning when the light came through

I know I've only felt religion when I've lied with you

You said you'll never be forgiven 'til your boys are too

And I'm still waking every morning but it's not with you

You're dripping like a saturated sunrise

You're spilling like an overflowing sink

You're ripped at every edge but you're a masterpiece

And now you're tearing through the pages and the ink

Everything is blue

His pills, his hands, his jeans

And now I'm covered in the colors

Pulled apart at the seams

And it's blue

And it's blue

Everything is grey

His hair, his smoke, his dreams

And now he's so devoid of color

He don't know what it means

And he's blue

I didn't really feel time pass. I was so absorbed in the song that it drowned out the rest of my sensors. I wasn't alert, and I wasn't aware.

Ford walking into the room never even registered with me.

I only stopped singing when I felt him sit down at the piano beside me. I was too startled to scream, too embarrassed to speak.

But I didn't need to, apparently. He lifted his fingers to the keys and played everything I just sang, but better, with extended reach for keys in the chords because of his extra fingers. He was playing more beautifully than anyone I'd ever heard before, and just off of sheer memory of what I sang. It was painful, in a good way. It made my heart feel like someone was squeezing it on beat, my heartbeat providing bass notes for the beautiful song he was creating throughout my body.

When he finished, I was sure my heart did too.

"Sorry," He pulls his hands away from the keys. "That was just being a showoff-"

"I was wondering," I interrupt, gaining a curious look from Ford. "How well you could play, when I found this down here."

Ford chuckles and looks down at his hands. "I can play duets by myself."

I'm sure he meant for it to sound cool, but the words that escape my lips imply otherwise.

"That sounds like a pretty lonely duet."

I think, perhaps, he's too surprised by my statement to respond. So I simply raise my hands up to the keys, providing the lower chords for the song. It takes him a few seconds, but his hands rise up as well, playing quite the enhanced version of the melody and even a harmony on the upper keys.

It was even more beautiful than the first time. Every key he played made my brain respond with synethesia more vibrant than I had ever experienced. Puffs of color, like fireworks above the keys. It was chaos, but organized. Beautiful, artistic chaos. Everything about him seemed to be beautiful chaos, and his music was no exception.

The final notes leave my vision tinted blue, and when I glance back up at Ford, he's smiling, too.

I wonder if it's the first time he hasn't done a duet alone.

~-~-~-~-~-~


	14. New Normal

~-~-~-~-~-~

Stanford Pines slept about as well as I did, which is to say-- he didn't sleep much at all. When he did manage to fall asleep, he seemed to awaken in terror or force himself back awake to check his surroundings.

I can only assume his time in other dimensions have left him an insomniac, constantly needing to watch his back.

Constantly afraid.

For me, my nerves were just far to active to rest. I was a creature of the night, now. I didn't need sleep, not like everyone else did. I just needed red. Enough red, and I'm awake for days.

Perhaps I needed less of it. Perhaps it would make me normal again.

Because a normal girl wouldn't drift out of her bed in the middle of the night. She wouldn't approach the sleepy Stanford. She wouldn't lift his head, lift his pillow, and sit up against the wall in their place. She wouldn't lay his pillow back down on her legs, or give the man she barely knew a comforting pat on the shoulder.

She wouldn't be so in love with a stranger.

"I'll look out for you, okay?" I whisper, amused by the perplexed look that comes across his face. "I'll make sure nothing comes for you... so just get some rest, okay?"

The older male lets out a sigh before laying down on the pillow against my legs. "That obvious?" He responds, and I let out a breath of a laugh.

"A bit. But that's okay. I get it." I lean my head against the wall, trying to get comfortable in the spot I'd rest in for the remainder of the night. "I used to wake up in the middle of the night thinking I heard my mom. Sometimes I'd try to keep myself up just in case she came by and I was still asleep." I let out a sigh, looking back down at the blue eyed beauty. "No point in it, though. I'm in a better place, now. So are you."

"Was your mother .. not around much?" Stanford relaxes, his eyes shutting and his body releasing it's tensed position.

"She was a prostitute."

"Oh."

"-- Not that I hold it against her or anything. She just.. really. Yeah, she wasn't around much." I rub the back of my neck, feeling a bit dumb that I've changed the entire tone of this conversation.

"Your father?"

"Sentenced to life in prison. My mom always said it was for the best that I never met him." My shoulders give a light shrug. "I've never questioned it. He's obviously in prison for a reason."

He's quiet for a moment before he opens his eyes to look up at me. "I hope I haven't caused any tension."

"Not at all," I give him a small smile. "I like that you want to get to know me more."

Not normal.

"Oh." He averts his gaze before rubbing at his eyes with one hand. I reach down and pull his glasses off his face.

"This is probably why you have trouble sleeping, you know. You'll never get out of the mindset if you can't feel comfortable again." I place his glasses on the nightstand, and Stanford furrows his brow. "Relax, okay?"

"I don't see how you expect me to relax, after so many years of--"

Not normal.

A normal girl wouldn't bend over and kiss his forehead. A normal girl wouldn't try to shut him up like that.

"Goodnight, Stanford."

His response came later, when he rolled onto his side facing away from me. It was quiet, but I'm sure he knows nothing gets past a vampire's ears.

"Goodnight, Katherine."

It's not normal to want him this much.

But I do.

 

So I'll defy normal for now.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

When he spoke to me the following day, a newly rejuvenated and better rested Stanford Pines asked to study me.

Or rather, my vampire abilities.

"Only if you're okay with it, anyways. It's just, I never really had the opportunity to study one very closely, occupational hazard and what not--uh--"

"Yes."

"Pardon?" His shocked face makes a giggle escape my lips.

"I said yes. Yes you can study me." I place my coffee cup down on the table. "Do whatever you need to me."

"Kinky." Stanley steps into the kitchen, snatching the coffee mug off the table and taking a swig.

"Stanley!" I can't tell if I'm more angered by the comment, or by him stealing my caffeine.

"Cool your jet, kiddo, I didn't come in here to interrupt your 'moment', I just wanted to let you know that the kids and I are planning a little road trip for this weekend, so don't get your panties in a bunch when you don't see us around." He pours some more coffee from the pot into the mug before sitting down at the table, still neglecting to give me my coffee.

"You're taking the kids on a trip?" Ford adjusts his glasses. "I suppose that will give metime to do some better experiments."

"I don't need to hear about your personal problems," Stanley turns back to me. "I trust you wont burn the place down. Or, ya know, let him burn the place down."

"We'll be fine, Stan. Thanks for letting me know." He gives me a smile before rising out of the chair, patting my head, and handing me back my mug.

Empty.

With a sigh, I rise out of my chair and refill my mug.

"Stanley, I actually had a question for you," Stanford calls to his brother before he exits the room.

"What's up, pointdexter?" I turn around with my new brew and watch as Stanley catches himself on the door frame.

"Mom and Dad..."

The silence that lingers in the air says enough.

"I uh.. " Stanley sighs before sitting back down at the table. "Listen, when I ... faked my death, when I took on your identity. Pops called. The old man was a wreck, something I really didn't expect for someone who booted me out of the house so damn fast." Stanley rubs the back of his neck. "First time I ever heard him cry. Last time we ever talked."

"And Ma?"

"... I'm sorry, Stanford."

"I see."

"They.. got buried at the old church down the street from the shop." Stanley stands up again, only stopping to look over his shoulder one last time. "For what it's worth, they were mighty proud of you for making it out on your own."

I can't imagine how Ford feels in this moment. What it must be like to know that the people you loved the most passed away while you were trapped in another hellish dimension. There's no words I can offer, no comfort I could give. A kiss on the forehead would do no good in this situation.

So I take my seat beside him, and we sit in silence for a while. He looks devastated, and it breaks my heart. He's a smart man, I'm sure he assumed all this time... but to actually know, to have it confirmed... it must hurt like hell.

"We should fly out and go see them."

"Kat, he just said--"

"I know what he said, but... you need peace. Closure. That's something that won't be achieved in Gravity Falls." He looks up to me, forlorn.

"I couldn't possibly."

"I'll be there. I'll stay with you." I offer, reaching down to place my hand on top of his. "It will help." His eyes focus on the contact of our hands, and I think about retracting it... but.  
I'd rather linger in this moment for a while.

"Alright," He grabs his coffee mug, tapping his fingers along the side of the porcelain. "Let's go to New Jersey this weekend, then. While the kids are gone."

I'd rather linger around for him forever.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~


	15. Red

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Reality really didn't sink in until I was on the plane next to Stanford. I was on a trip with him, what's more, alone.

Who was it that crawled under my skin and replaced me? Because old Katherine Bishop was never this outgoing, never this brave, and never this crazy.

I planned a trip with a stranger. I'm sitting beside an absolute stranger, because I've been chasing a feeling.

"Does flying make you nervous?" Ford asks, skimming through a safety pamphlet. It's amusing to think that he's never been on an update, modern, and safer plane.

"Not really, I'm just caught up in thoughts right now. THAT makes me nervous." I give myself a pity laugh and turn my attention out the window.

"Have you thought about keeping a journal? It helped me." He suggests, and I shake my head with a half smile.

Pretty sure my journal would contain sketches of Ford's butt at thirty different angles. Probably not the best thing to carry around with me at all times like he does.

"So what's in New Jersey, anyways? Like, is there anything really to the state besides the giant stadium thing?"

Ford furrows his brow, "I suppose there's the beaches, and really good sea food and salt water taffy."

"---So that's a no."

"Well I didn't exactly stick around long enough to go exploring. There certainly weren't as many strange things as there were in Gravity Falls."

"Attention all AirOne Passengers, the plane will now begin it's descent to Newark Air Port. We ask that you return to your seats at this time and buckle the seat belts provided. Thank you for traveling with us today."

I sighed and leaned my head back against my seat. How did this all go by so quickly? I had only hoped I'd get to know him more on the ride over. Now I'm just in a foreign town with a stranger, going to visit the graves of someone I've never met to try and offer comfort to someone I barely know.

And yet, it was fine. It all felt fine. No anxiety, no worries, no concern. Just indifference. Was this indifference? Or was this actually an urge? The want to comfort him? The want to help him heal?

I had never been this compassionate for anyone before in my entire life. Why did I start now? What is it about him that gets under my skin?

When I look over at him again, it's suddenly obvious what exactly it was.

His eyes looked sad.

And it broke me.

~-~-~-~-~

It didn't really surprise me that Stanford wanted to check into the hotel before anything else. If I were about to stare at the ghosts of my past, I'd probably delay it for as long as possible, too.

Two beds in the same room were no big deal. Ford and I had been spending every night in the same room, this was no different. Sure, the look we got from the front desk lady was different, but she had no place to judge.

"How are you feeling, are you jet lagged, do you need any food or water?"

No, no food. I already decided to cut back on red. I wanted to be normal again. I needed to be normal again.

"I'm actually alright. Are you--"

"I'm fine." Ford quickly spun around to the bed, unpacking his suitcase and placing his items in the dresser at the foot of the bed.

He said that perhaps a bit too quickly, but I couldn't push that, could I? This can't be easy on him.

"I," He lets out a sigh, taking a seat at the foot of the bed. "I'm not sure I can actually do this." Ford looks ashamed to admit this, but I flock to his side so quickly that his ashamed face is replaced with a shocked one.

"I'm not sure this is meant to be easy, but that's why I'm here with you. You aren't supposed to face difficult things alone."

He shakes his head slightly, his eyes searching for something in mine. What it was, I couldn't say-- but his words are soft when he speaks.

"You're far too good to me. I feel a bit like I've stolen you away from Stanley. You're his best friend, and yet, you're here by my side."

"Your feud with each other doesn't involve me. It doesn't need to. I want to be there for my best friend, and I want to be there for my hero." I fold my hands in my lap, giving Ford a tiny smile.

"You call me a hero, yet look what chaos I've managed to cause over the years." He lets out another sigh, his frown dancing back across his lips. He was hard on himself, and I suppose carrying the weight of such intense actions could break a man, but...

He was more than just that one creation. His impact on the world would be far more vast and wonderful than just the creation of the portal. All he saw was the damage he caused, he never even thinks about what he's created.

"You know," I lean back on the bed, my back hitting the fluffy white comforter. "When I look at Dipper, I see myself. He's so small, and yet so filled with wonder and curiosity. His summer has revolved around your writings, and he's changed for the better because of them. I was that way, too." He lays back at this point, interlacing his fingers as he stares up at the ceiling. "The Stanford Pines I grew up reading about wasn't known to me as 'the author of the journals' or 'the inventor of the dimensional portal'. The Stanford Pines that changed me-- that made me fill with wonder and curiosity and hope-- He was a brilliant mathematician. He got excited when LIGO started researching Einstein's theory on gravitational waves. He filled in the margins of his notes with doodles of extinct species. He wrote books on anomalies, and left shelves full of similar ones filled to the brim in his room. He listened to the Bee gees and Elton John and Elvis and The Who. He was such a mystery to me-- The man whose room I occupied. The man who made me happy without even being there." When I pull my eyes to look at him, I notice he's staring at me already. "You've always been more than your mistakes, Stanford. And you always will be. Even your parents knew that."

His eyes narrow a bit, but clearly only to fight back the water that threatens to topple over his bottom lid. He reaches up a hand, moving under his glasses to rub his eyes, letting out a breath of a laugh as he sits up.

"You're a brilliant woman, Katherine Bishop."

"And you will always be my hero, Stanford Pines."

He watches me as I sit up, choosing to unpack my suitcase and spare my heart another staring contest.

"I think I'm ready to see them," He whispers. I place down the article of clothing I picked up, looking over my shoulder.

"You sure? We can wait a day if you want."

"I should do it today, while your words are still lifting me up."

It's almost like the world is in slow motion as he looks up from the floor and up to my eyes. His lashes are surprisingly long, and tempt me to stare into the deep blues beneath them. It's agonizingly beautiful.

"Alright then," My body shivers as I barely get a word out. "Let's head out."

Our walk to the cemetery is silent. There's barely anyone walking alone the streets, despite it being summer and being on a coastal town. The world was eerily quiet, fitting for the situation that was about to unfold.

The gates to the cemetery were open when we arrived. It was relatively small, but well maintained, and littered with flowers and votives along the headstones.

All but 2.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out which two wouldn't have been visited in the longest time, or who they belonged to.

He stood in front of them like the world had slowed around him. I wasn't even sure if Ford was still breathing.

There's really not much comfort I could offer, another situation where no words would help. The Katherine inside me, the one who occupied my body without my permission-- the not normal one, she decided it would be best to take Ford's hand. She decided that staying quiet but remaining as a support mechanism was the best was to help.

She didn't realize that you don't hold a stranger's hand.

She also didn't realize holding hands was a lot different when the other party had 6 fingers.

But both of us, the real Katherine and the not normal one, kind of enjoyed the way both his pinky and thumb rested along the outside of our own.

I liked the way that he chose to hold my hand, instead of casting it aside, too.

And I suppose, that's when it sunk in. There was never another Katherine. It was always me longing for him, reaching out for him. The new me. Whatever part of me that once lived, hoping that I wouldn't fall for Stanford Pines, was gone. I couldn't keep calling him a stranger, not when I've laid my heart out for him time and time again. Not when his fingers gripped so tightly onto mine.

Not when we're here together, alone, vulnerable, and honest.

I love him. I love him with so much of my heart, that there's no bit of it left to protest with. I was drawn to him like he was the only street light in a dark alley way. Like I've been swimming at sea, lost for years, and he's the sudden lighthouse pulling me to shore. I love him as vast and endless as the universe, expanding and growing with each word, each touch, each and every shared moment.

I loved him.

"They died... not having seen me in--"

"I think they died happy." I interrupt. I wasn't about to let him go down that road. "Not because they hadn't seen you in a while-- but... The goal isn't to live forever, it's to create something that will." When I look to my blue eyed counterpart, I notice his eyes are watering up again. "I think they rest easy knowing you get to achieve all your goals. They created someone who history will remember-- For the good things."

He looks back over to the headstones, a comfortable silence in the air again. I can only hope my words mean anything to him.

"Let's head back and get some rest." Ford's voice comes out as a whisper, and his grip on my hand tells me he's a little less than okay-- but I get the feeling he's a lot better off with me here than he would be alone.

~-~-~-~-~-~

Him ever expecting us to be able to rest was ridiculous. Not with this tension in the air. Not with the heavy sadness lingering.

It was so quiet in the room that I could hear every other room in the hotel before I heard anything from our own. I don't know if he was doing it for my sake, but it was driving me insane. My body was aching, and I was so suddenly tired and hung over. It had to be the thirst.

I was so bent on trying not to fall for Stanford in the first place, that I forgot that not eating turns me into... well, a monster.

It went from hearing everything-- to full sensory overload. I could smell the blood in his veins-- The blood in every guest's veins. His heartbeat, and the air filling his lungs, I could hear every shift in his body. My teeth clenched together tightly, and I rose from my bed in the short babydoll nightgown I was wearing. I had no time to change, I'd have to go to the lobby in this. I need something red. I need to not damage the room, because god only knows what the charges for that would be. I needed red.

I was losing myself entirely.

My legs wobbled, my knees nearly giving out. I barely understood Ford calling out my name, but the words were practically screamed into my brain. I didn't remember falling, but he was at my side and catching me faster than I could have imagined his body would let him.

His heartbeat was right beside my ear.

I could rip it right out of his chest, if I wanted. I could take every ounce of blood from his veins and ride that high for days.

That was what I wanted.

So I perched myself on top of him, pushing his back down to the floor. I could feel the straps of my nightgown sliding down my shoulders, but my brain was too focused on bringing his neck closer to care. I pushed my pelvis against his, bringing my chest down upon him and drawing my lips closer and closer to the nape of his neck. This would be so good. This would be so sweet-- so delicious.

I felt his body twitch beneath me, his heart racing. I heard the blood rush to his waist, and couldn't help but raise an amused eyebrow of the thought of draining his blood from there. He could die a happy man, that's for sure.

"-rine."

Not now.

"--atherine!"

Please, I'm almost done, I swear, I just need to pierce his neck.

"Katherine!"

I couldn't take that annoying voice anymore. I took a deep breath in, opening my jaw to the widest angle I could before chomping down.

I never got the satisfaction of his taste.

When I came to my senses, when I opened my eyes for the first time-- I realized Ford's turtleneck was bunched up and hanging from my mouth.

And it was gray now.

I could die. I could die right now and it would be the most merciful thing that any god has ever done for me.

My breasts were basically dumped out onto Ford's chest, my body pushed so tightly against his that I could feel him breathe. He looked at me worriedly, but also as absolutely flustered as I must have been.

"I--"

I miss normal Kat.

"I'm so sorry!" I throw myself off the older male, landing on the floor with a rather loud thud. I tuck myself back into my gown and bring my hands up to cover my face. What the fuck was I doing?

"Perhaps we should go get dinner." Ford lets out a sigh and I can hear him stand up and straighten himself out. But I don't quite feel like I can leave my spot on the floor. I'm mortified. "Hey." Nopenopenopenope. No response. No words. I can't. "Hey," This time, he's beside me, his breath in my ear. He's whispering, and it's delicate and it make my body hurt. "It's really okay. Let's just go get food, okay?"

"I'm sorry." I whisper again.

"Yeah," Ford lets out a soft chuckle, rising back up again. "I know.

~-~-~-~-~-~


	16. Captain and Coke

~-~-~-~-~-~

When I finally pulled myself out of the bathroom, trying to recover from the utter disaster that had just happened, I reappeared with much more gusto and determination.

Now was not the time to be sulking about what an absolute idiot I was.

Now was the time to figure out whether or not he actually secretly enjoyed all of it as much as I did.

Minus the whole-- he would've died-- bit.

"You ready to head out?" Ford slipped on his dark coat and gave me an unreadable look as I entered the main room in some only-slightly-less revealing clothes.

"Yeah, I figured the only places open right now are like.. pubs, so this is alright, right?" I gesture to my sleek orange and black cutout dress, and Ford simply shrugs his shoulders. God dammit.

"If you don't think you'll be cold, sure."

And we were on our way, out the door, and down the street to whatever pub seemed cleanly and available. It was the weekend, and there was a small amount of night life in New Jersey, but not as much action as the bigger cities would be seeing this time of year.

"So," Ford starts, tucking his hands into his pockets. "Were you trying not to feed for my sake, or..."

"No," I take a deep breath, bringing a hand up to gently rub my eye. "Honestly, I've just been sort of.. not myself lately, and I wanted to blame it on the bite. But, obviously not feeding was what was changing me-- not the other way around." I give a small shrug, "I guess I was just hoping that without the red, I could slip back into my old self. Start feeling comfortable in my own skin, again."

"These powers are your responsibility now, you know. If you aren't making an effort to control them, you're hurting people."

It stung, pretty deep, in fact. Like getting gutted slowly with a serrated hunting knife. Like pouring lemonade in the wounds.

"Yeah..." I whisper, pulling my cardigan tighter around my body. Just like that, my gusto and determination was gone.

"This place is fine, I went here a few times in High School." Ford holds a door open for me, but I can't meet his eyes as I walk by. He shamed me so hard and it was ripping me apart.

I take a seat at a high top and quickly dive into the menu, still not daring to look up at Ford. How was I even supposed to respond to that? I know what I did was wrong, sure, but I'm clearly already miserable by what it caused... it doesn't need to get any worse.

"I wasn't chastising you, you know." He says, finally. I flinch a little, and I'm sure he saw it. "I just... I know you have a lot of people you care for, and I know you'd be devastated if anything happened to them and it was your fault."

"Yeah," I whisper again. This makes my chest tense, my heart feels like the arteries around it are trying to tie themselves in knots. This was surely guilt. It was turning my vision grey. I couldn't bear it. "I'm sorry!" I spit out finally, dropping my head behind the menu to be entirely out of his view. I couldn't handle the weight of his eyes on me right now. "I know I was being stupid, and I know i put you at risk and I know that was a part of me you never wanted to see and I know it was inappropriate and it was all because I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of you in the first place, and I'm just a total mess and you didn't deserve any of that so I'm so sorry!" I run out of breath, out of words to say, but I wait. I don't feel like I can even breathe in that moment. One more thought crosses my mind, spilling out of my lips like an overflowing sink. "I care about you, and I'm sorry I almost hurt you. I'd be more than devastated, I'd be heartbroken."

There's a tugging feeling on my fingertips and I can see that Ford's pulling the menu down to look me in the eyes.

He's smirking at me. SMIRKING. Smirking?

"You worry too much," He chuckles before looking down to his menu. "I've dealt with tougher vampires than you."

I'm almost insulted, but I recognize that was an attempt to cheer me up. He was doing what I came on this trip to do for him.

The waitress comes over, introduces herself, and then takes our drink orders. I needed some heavy red wine. She recommends sangria, and I'm never one to say no to alcoholic fruit punch.

"And you, sir?"

"Just a water will be fine."

"What?" I argue, "No, no. He'll have a Captain and Coke. He's not going to celebrate his own birthday by not drinking."

"What? It's not my--"

"Oh my gosh! It's your birthday?" The waitress lights up with a smile and takes down the drink orders. "You know what, let me grab you two some chips and salsa on the house when I bring those drinks out! Captain and Coke for you, birthday boy!" The waitress scurries away and it's my turn to smirk.

"I wasn't intending on drinking tonight." Stanford sighs, leaning forward on his hand.

"Yes, but we're on a vacation, Ford. A mini vacation, and we aren't driving so we're going to enjoy our night out at the pub."

"Just make sure you eat enough, I don't need a rabid drunk vampire sharing a room with me." The waitress brings back the orders, with a few extra shots with whip cream on top to celebrate.

"Birthday shots! We love to party around here." She giggles and I grab one of the shot glasses, encouraging Ford to grab the other.

"Enough of these and you'll have to worry about sharing a bed with a drunk vampire."

Stanford rolls his eyes, but picks up the shot glass anyways, knocking it back with a surprising expertise. I take my own shot, cupcake vodka, and chase it with Sangria to get the surprisingly sickly sweet taste from my mouth.

All the red from the Sangria flowed through my veins. All the alcohol began to flow, too.

"I haven't had good liquor in a long time," Ford stares down at his caramel colored glass. "Not a bad idea actually."

"So you're ready for round two of shots?"

"What? Kat, no. Alcohol is horrible for your body."

"After the initial fun, maybe! C'mon, I never got to do this in college. I didn't have anyone to drink with!" I pout, preparing myself to grab another salsa covered chip with his rejection.

"I suppose I didn't really, either. Or really, just didn't have the time to..." Stanford stares at me for a moment, blue eyes narrowing as he watches me finish my sangria. "To hell with it, let's do it."

"YES!" I let out a victory laugh, calling over the waitress. "I'd like a refill, and we BOTH would love a shot of jagermeister."

"Wanna make that a jager bomb?" She asks, and Ford looks at me with wide eyes. I guess he'd never had one before.

"Hell yeah we do." I reply. The more energy, the more time we'd have awake together.

I don't really remember hitting my third glass of Sangria. I don't remember how many shots had gone by. What I did remember was how my heart would skip a beat each time Ford smiled at me before taking another shot. I remembered laughing at the cringey faces we'd both make if we didn't chase right after. I remembered leaving the bill, with a rather large tip for the waitress who we'd conned into delivering free shots and desserts to the 'birthday boy'.

Yet it still felt like I had practically warped myself to walking back to the hotel. The moment it hit made me a little sad. I wanted to remember everything, but it felt like my whole night was vanishing.

"That was probably..." Stanford takes a deep breath of the night air before letting out half a laugh. "Way more alcohol than I can handle. But it's good. All of it.. its good."

"I second that motion, good sir." I take a deep breath of the sea air as well, enjoying the cool breeze sweeping in over the ocean. "Thank you, for dealing with me. I appreciate it."

"Dealing with you?" Ford smiles as he raises a brow. "I'd hardly call a date 'dealing with you'."

Woah.

"Is that what you'd call it?" We step into the lobby of the hotel, the air conditioning sweeping over my bare skin and sending a shiver up my spine. "A date?"

Stanford pauses before hitting the button on the wall to call the elevator.

"Well, I suppose that--"

"I like it." I admit quickly, stopping him before he can change his mind and say something to deflate the good feeling that rose through my brain. The elevator doors open and I brush past him, barely catching his pink cheeks from the corner of my eyes before he steps in as well.

I'm sure I was pink too, but whether or not either or us were pink from embarrassment of the alcohol was a mystery.

The elevator shaking into motion threatened my balance a bit. I guess I didn't realize just how out of it the liquor was making me.

We made it back to the room without another word. I still didn't feel tired, even with enough red in my veins to soothe me back to normality. Stanford stripped of his jacket, hanging it in the small closet. I slipped out of my heels before pulling my hair to the side and approaching him again.

"Could you unzip this for me?" I ask quietly, spinning around so he could reach the back of my dress. Stanford doesn't speak, but reaches up to pull the small zipper down slowly. I let out a moan of a sigh and flip my hair back over. "Thank you." I slide the straps of my dress over my shoulders and start to let my dress fall.

"What a-are you doing, Kat?" Stanford hiccups mid sentence, and I give him a warning look.

"If you don't wanna see, then turn around."

Ford spins on his heel in response and faces the closet. I look to my bed, seeing my suitcase and more of my toiletries still sprawled across it. I decide Ford's bed looks comfier. I slip under his sheets with a content smile.

"Did you just--" Ford turns back around, seeing me in his bed. "Kat, honestly." He pulls his glasses off to rub the bridge of his nose and I lay on my side to face him.

"Told you you should worry about me in your bed." I let out a small giggle, enjoying my victory before his protest. But his protest doesn't come.

Instead, he places his glasses down on the coffee table and slides into bed beside me. I let out a scoff.

"You're going to sleep in that?" I gesture to his black slacks and red button up.

"Yes?"

"No you're not."

"Just go to sleep, Kat." Stanford mumbles, pushing his head into his pillow.

"Stanford, you can't sleep now!" I reach over, wrapping my legs around one of his.

"I can and I am." He responds.

"That's no fun at all." I purr, bringing my body closer to his.

Earth to Kat. Earth to Kat. Where the hell are you?

"I don't know what you want from me." Stanford rolls over onto his back, pushing me from his body.

"It's not that hard to figure out." I bring my lips up to his neck, tucking my head into the crevice and placing a soft, lingering kiss over his pulsing vein.

"Did you not get enough red while we were out? You had like.. six glasses of sangria." Stanford opens up his sleepy blue eyes to peer down at me. It makes me feel vulnerable all of the sudden. Nervous. Just a tiny bit.

But not nervous enough to stop.

"I was kind of hoping to ..." I bite my lip, looking away from him. I was losing so much confidence. Just finish the sentence. Finish the damn sentence, Kat. "Suck something else."

I watched for his reaction. My heart was brave enough for that.

He wasn't like Stanley.

His eye widened, his face flushing, and his hand slowly rose up to cover his eyes. Was he just realizing how I felt? Was it really that big of a secret this entire time?

"I just don't understand." Ford admitted, after a moment of agonizing silence.

".. What?" I bring a hand to my chest, feeling my heart pounding inside.

"How could you possibly..." He mumbles. It's like he's stuck trying to find words. "It's just, we're.. We've..." He sighs. "There's such an age gap, Katherine. Are you really capable of looking past--"

"Yes." I don't even let him finish. He moves his hand to look at me, his head rolling over on the pillow. "But are you?"

My breath catches. I can tell I'm waiting, I can tell my body is shaking and trembling and dying to know the next words that fall from his lips. Having him stare into my eyes like he's judging every ounce of my soul. I felt naked. I mean, I kind of was, but I felt like he was scrutinizing me.

Until he spoke.

"Yeah."

I didn't mean to rush to his lips as quickly as I did, but the vampire in me is a bit over zealous. I barely felt the sheets slide off my back, the only thing I focused on was the warm pressure of his lips on mine.

It didn't feel wrong this time. It didn't feel forced, or friendly, or unwanted. It felt like a symphony sounds. It felt like fireworks on a clear night. It felt like a cool sea breeze on a warm summer night.

He pulls away only to inspect what he felt as his hands trailed up my legs on instinct. The elastic lace of my panties had apparently caught his attention as his hand brushed over them.

"I-I really thought you were wearing pajamas for some reason." He admits, and I push myself forward onto his lips again.

"These are pajamas," I take my hands from the pillows on either side of his head and bring them down to his chest. "Let's get you in yours." My fingers slide down to the first button on his shirt, taking no time to slide it through the hole. I had great precision for a mildly drunk girl.

"Kat," Stanford grabbed my wrist and shot me a warning look. I flinched at his sharp blue eyes.

"But I-"

"I have scars."

A confession wasn't what I was expecting.

"What?"

"Scars. A lot of them." He looks down at his shirt, then back up to me. "I-I just thought you should know."

I looked down at his shirt as well, trying to process what I should say in that moment. The answer came relatively quickly.

"Then I'll kiss every single one." I respond, continuing on to the next button.

He wasn't kidding, though. Scars. A lot of them, decorating his chest, his shoulders, his back. I reach out, dragging a finger softly along one down his chest. Ford shivers a bit at this touch, and I just now realize I'm straddling him rather tightly with my legs and he's barely touching me at all.

"You can touch, too." I whisper, grabbing his hands and dragging them up my sides, letting go as they rest on top of my bra. His finger slides over the decorative white lace, and his bedroom eyes soften even more. "I'm sure you can prove to me," I lean towards him, my lips dragging over his chest up to his ear, still letting his hands rest on my chest. "How great it is having a lover with extra fingers."

I pull my lips together, clamping onto his neck without using my teeth and sucking on the soft skin. His fingers tighten around my chest, giving my breasts a firm squeeze that made a small moan escape my lips. I slip my hands around Ford's neck, pulling him up to me and meeting him with a kiss as he sits up. I pull his sleeves down, removing his dress shirt entirely and feeling up his exposed skin. His body radiated a delicious heat.

I bring his hands up and around my back, he seems a bit confused by the gesture until I let his fingers rest upon the clasp of my bra. He looked into my eyes, almost as if asking for my permission.

"Do it," I can't help but let out a small laugh. I would've thought Ford would be a relatively dominant lover with his 'alpha twin' ego.

He practically snaps his fingers and the bra releases it's tight hold on my chest. I bring my hands up and slide the bra from my body, tossing it to the floor with Ford's shirt. Ford releases a slow breath from his lips, eyes dragging across my body. I wiggle my hips, teasing his growing erection with the heat and movement of my wet panties.

"Your move." I whisper, encouraging him to explore my body.

His lips meet mine again, his hands reaching around my back and pushing me down onto my back on his bed. One hand firmly grabs at my breast, one reaches down to my panty line.

"I don't need a sixth finger to make it special."

It took everything not to finish with that line.

His hand slides underneath the lace, lightly rubbing over my clit in a few circular motions before falling in between my lips. He brought his mouth to mine again, his tongue forcing my mouth open so it can dance with mine. My hips buckled at his calloused fingers rubbing over me. I wanted him.

My hands found their way to his belt, undoing it and ripping it off in one swift motion. I pulled open the button and my hand dove into his pants, gripping tightly on his erection through his silky briefs. Ford's moan was more like a gasp, coming out shaky and breathless. His fingers stopped working for a moment as I pulled my hand all the way up from the base of his cock to the tip, rubbing it gently.

I grab Stanford by the shoulders again, throwing him onto the bed and turning around, ripping off his slacks and grabbing hungrily at his erection again. I lean down, kissing the head through his boxers, thumbing around with it again. I couldn't resist anymore, reaching in and pulling the waistband down, revealing his length. I placed a gentle kiss on top of his bare skin, taking the time to drag my tongue all around the head of his penis, enjoying every twitch of his leg and moan from his lips.

I let my tongue fall further on the length of his cock, dragging it up the sensitive underside and feeling it throb against me. A proud smirk comes to my lips, and I decide to take the entire head into my mouth, dragging my tongue across rapidly to earn small twitches from Ford. As I pull up go down again, I nearly melt into a puddle at the feeling of Ford's mouth against my panties. He places a few kisses against the heat, before using his thumb to hook the bottom of my panties to the side and drag his tongue up from the bottom of my lips.

I moan, my tongue vibrating against his cock as I pull it deeper into my mouth. His breath tickles my clit as he shivers. I pull myself up, holding my lips tight against his cock, my tongue only slowly swaying across the underside of his dick. I take my free hand down to drag a finger slowly and gently behind his balls, pressing into the space and making Ford freeze in his tracks with pleasure. His cock twitches, and I pull away from it all quickly.

"Not yet," I whisper, turning around to face him. "You need to make me finish first."

"I-I.. was working on it!" Ford nearly pouts about me pulling away, but I press him back onto his pillows.

"I've got a better way." I take his dick in my hand, pulling my legs to either side of his hips, and slowly slide myself down onto him. He's gasping when there's just a little bit of the tip in, so I decide to have a little fun. I lift myself up again, pulling him out, before pressing down again, taking just a little bit more of him inside each time. He grips at the sheets, then my hips, then at his pillow, avoiding every urge he's getting to thrust in to me at full speed. I'm going painfully slow, I can admit.

So I take him all in at once.

He's white knuckling the sheets, practically growling when he lets out a groan. His eyes are shut tight, and he's stopped moving altogether. I lean forward, my breasts falling onto his chest for the second time this evening.

"Fuck me, Ford."

His eyes slowly open, taking in the sight of me. His hands reach up to my waist, gripping my hips tightly. He pulls out slowly, and the feeling of his dick against me is euphoric.

"Fuck." I whisper, my head arching back. It wouldn't take long for me at all.

He took that as the green light to speed up. He slammed his dick into me at an amazing pace, no doubt caused by the red bull in the jager bombs. I reached down and tickled at the space near his balls again, causing Ford to throw his own head back in pleasure.

I closed my eyes, kaleidoscope visions dancing on the backs of my lids. He was so good. So, SO good. My legs tightened around him.

"Deeper." I commanded, causing Ford to immediately slow down and instead focus on pushing himself further into my pussy. I practically fell onto him when it happened, my body shaking with the pleasure he had brought. "Fuck me, Ford. Please." I plead, wanting to ride out the orgasm. "Faster."

He gripped tighter on my hips, bringing his body up to furiously hump me again. His dick sliding against me brought about a second orgasm, I rode that one out, too. When I thought my body couldn't possibly take it anymore, when I felt like I'd just collapse into a pleasure puddle, he climaxes. His dick throbs inside me, and his nails curl into my skin and his lips breathe out my name.

He lays still, breathless and eyes closed on the pillow-- trying to gain whatever composure he might have left.

"It's okay, Ford," I slide off of him, earning one last groan. I kiss his cheek before falling into place in the bed beside him. "You can go to bed now."

He lets out a content sigh, rolling over and reaching an arm around my waist. He pulls my body to his, kissing my shoulder as it comes to rest under his chin.

"Now we can."

~-~-~-~-~-~


	17. Horripilation

~-~-~-~-~-~

I could've almost sworn it was all a dream when I awoke the following morning. But my hips wouldn't lie to me-- I still felt traces of him throughout my body.

The way Stanford made me feel still confused me. I've never really felt such an urge with a man, and certainly never acted upon it. Was it the vampire in me? Or was it just a part of me I never realized was there? A missing piece, perhaps?

Or perhaps I just love him.

His fingers lightly trace down my sides, dipping into the curve of my waist and back up over my hips. It was soothing, yet it caused horripilation on my skin.

"Good morning," It fell from my lips with a shiver.

"Good afternoon, actually."

He places a kiss on my shoulder, pulling my entire body closer to his. The feeling has me closing my eyes again. This was surely it, everything I always felt I was missing. I couldn't be happier than I was in this exact moment.

"Do you want to get up and see the town?" He asks, after a few minutes of silence. I let out a content sigh before rolling over to face him. I feel a small smirk stretch on my lips.

"Only if we shower first."

Ford raises an eyebrow, "Of course we will-"

"Together." I finish.

The look he gives me, pure deer in headlights, makes me erupt in a laughter I didn't know I was capable of.

"C'mon, cutie. Before I suck the red out of those cheeks."

~-~-~-~-~-~

This beach town was a rather nice one, with all the stores still being owned by residents and not failing to bigger corporations. Candy stores, arcades, cute cafes... everything was humble, but gleaming with summer spirit. It was heart warming.

The best part of this town, the special secret-- according to Ford-- was the bookstore. On the outside, it didn't look very impressive at all, but the inside shook me to the core. Book themed sculptures, decorations, no obnoxious displays of the latest political leader's autobiography, but instead classics displayed up front to encourage adventurous summer reading. There was couches and a coffee table on the first floor, and many kids sat reading. There wasn't any pushy sales people trying to get you to buy magazine subscriptions, or any overwhelming store soundtrack. It was peaceful, glorious, and awe inspiring.

"I love this place," Stanford whispered. His hand wrapped tighter around mine, squeezing my thumb and pinky fingers into the spaces between his. "I used to come here nearly every day."

"Do they have a paranormal section?"

There's a twinkle in his eye. That's a yes.

He leads me by the hand, the left side on the first floor, back in the far corner, a secluded section. There's no one here but the books.

"This was probably my favorite," Stanford quickly pulls a burgundy bound book from the shelves. He smiles as he holds up 'Polydactyls Throughout History'. I reach over and take the book from his hands, inspecting the first page. "Oh, but this one was good too... 'A Brief History on Alien Contact' was a common read for me, too. Oh, this is new!"

I look up to see Stanford, smile wide on his face, as he picks book after book. His eyes gleam as he reads a few pages of one, he scoffs at what I assume is an incorrect theory in another, and mumbles about something 'not exactly' being right in another book. A laugh threatens to spill from my lips, but the smile I get can't be held back. It takes a few minutes for him to finally look up, his smile falling as he realizes how quiet I've been.

"Is everything alright? Is this boring?" That single thought potentially being a reality makes the glimmer in his eyes fade. I want to shout 'no, you're a fool, Stanford.' and 'I find your reactions alone to be the best things I've ever witnessed'.

But I settle for stepping towards him, at a pace so quickly he apparently was startled and dropped the book he was holding. I place the book on polydactyls on the shelf briefly, taking another step and backing Stanford up against the 'C' section.

"I love it here," I place my hands on his chest, my fingers sliding up his dark sweater. I raise myself up onto my tip toes, enjoying the rather intoxicated look Stanford has on his face.

"We're in public," he warns, but it's rather half hearted.

"In a town we don't live in."

"Katherine-" He whispers, it barely even sounded like a warning anymore. More like an invitation.

I kissed him softly, so his head wouldn't hit against the books. My hands slid up and rest my fingers on both of his cheeks. He lets out a peaceful sigh, his hand resting on my arm. I give him kiss after kiss before my body finally ignites, biting on his lip. His small gasp is my opportunity to bring him closer, to kiss him in the way I've been craving.

He made me want to try so many new things.

"Kat-" He pulls me from his for just a moment. "Listen, uh..." He veers his eyes away from me quickly, his hand coming up to his mouth. I get nervous for a moment, before he pipes up again. "I haven't uh, really. Ever.. had that kind of contact with someone before--"

"No ones kissed me like that before, either." I raise an eyebrow. Was that all he was worried about?

"W-what? But you, you-"

"Went for it?" I let out a soft laugh, bringing my hand up to rub at my neck.

"No, no not that. You're ... beautiful, how have you gone this far without.. being kissed?"

"I could ask you the same thing, don't you think?" His eyes soften as he gives a shy smile.

"Right, sorry."

"Can I kiss you, Stanford?"

My answer came in his lips on mine. My knees shook a little, but I forced myself to stay on my toes to meet his level. His hand wraps around my waist, pulling me onto him with such force that we bump the shelves and I worry we might knock it over.

I wouldn't know good kissing, even if I did it, because truly, I've never done it. But he felt good. He felt right, and like there's nothing better in this world, truly, than kissing him in the supernatural section of a bookstore I've never been to. Behind my eyelids, there's puffs of blue mist, then quick bursts of happy pink colors. It beats with my heart. It fills my mind, along with every sensation of his body against mine.

He made my world so vivid. So beautiful.

"We should head back, soon. Don't want to miss our flight." He says finally, followed by a small chuckle at my disappointed face.

"Alright... Let's go to check out first."

"You're going to buy something?" He raises an eyebrow, clearly confused as there's no book in my hands. But then I retrieve the book I had placed on the shelf behind him, giving a shy smile as I hold it up.

'Polydactyls Throughout History' brings quite the smile to his lips.

I can only imagine it's heartwarming to see someone interested in the book you recommended. The look he gets only convinces me more that I needed to purchase it.

I'd do anything to get him to continue smiling like that.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~


	18. Cipher

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Going back to Gravity Falls wasn't ideal, but admittedly, I missed the family I built there. I missed Mabel's romanticism, and honestly, I couldn't wait to tell her everything--well, almost everything-- that had happened. I wanted to share the book I purchased with Dipper, as well, knowing how much he admired Ford and loved the mysteries of the world. I wanted to show Stanley how happy I was.

I wanted Ford to be happy, and to give Stanley another chance.

I had high hopes for returning to Gravity Falls.

"I don't think we should tell Stanley right away," Ford admits on the plane.

"What? Why?" I feel my brows furrow, I didn't want to look upset but.. I also couldn't help it.

"I don't think he'll be very supportive, to be honest. If he wasn't a fan of your age gap, I highly doubt he'd be okay-"

"I don't care. Stan can get over it."

"I just think it would be better to wait." He rubs the back of his neck. "I don't really think we should tell anyone yet."

I feel my words clog my throat. The plane was already descending into Oregon, and he drops this on me last minute?

"So just act like this weekend never happened?" They fall out of my mouth, quiet, and unbittter, which is the opposite of what I wanted.

"It's for the best. Just for a little while.."

I give a small nod, deciding I should put my headphones in before I got wrapped up in a conversation that would make me cry. I was in disbelief. I was angry. I was miserable.

You don't do that to anyone. That's not okay.

Don't make me love you to try and rip me off like a bandaid once you're finished. I won't stick as well when you decide you want me again.

My world was just gray again.

~-~-~-~-~-~

I was tired. Which was mysterious, because I didn't really get tired. But perhaps I was tired from people, from social contact. Coming home was hard, pretending I wasn't upset was hard, and pretending like Ford and I were nothing was the most difficult thing I've ever done.

I sat on the rooftop all night, rather than in my bed in the same room as him. He could have nightmares for all I cared. I personally hoped he woke up every twenty minutes.

My eyes stung as the clouds cleared to show the sun high in the sky. I really shouldn't be left alone with my thoughts for too long, but I refused to be inside the house. I thought about shutting my eyes, for only a moment. They fell slowly, only to be shot back open moments after.

"Well."

Nothing in front of me.

"Well."

Nothing to my left.

"Well."

The source, to my right. His legs dangled off the edge of the roof in the same manner as mine. His body was glowing-- his body. A pyramid. A talking pyramid. With no mouth.

"I've been waiting for a chance to introduce myself to you, Kat the bat."

And he knew. Oh god, he knew. What the hell was happening?

"Man, I knew Gravity Falls was full of freaks, but someone your age falling for ol' six fingers? That's hilarious." I didn't like him. "Where ARE my manners? The name's Bill, Bill Cipher."

"Hi, Bill-Bill Cipher." I roll my eyes.

"Oh, and a sense of humor! I like you already, freak show. We're gonna get along just fine." The pyramid floats up in front of me, spinning in circles. "Let's talk business, Kat. I help you, you help me-- complete transaction!"

"I'm not sure what you mean by helping each other, I'm not in need of any help."

"You can't lie to me, kid, I see everything." I felt my eye twitch as he called me 'kid'. "You want Stanford, plain and simple. I can fix that. All you gotta do is meet me in the woods, help a guy out, and he's yours."

"What exactly would I be doing?"

"Details aren't important, I'll just find you when I need a favor."

"Absolutely not."

There's a small silence between us as his eye narrows.

"Fine fine, I just want brief control of your body--"

"I said no." I say, a bit more firmly.

Bill lets out a sigh, crossing his arms. "Fine, but don't expect me to help out when you're asking for it later. In fact, I think I'm gonna do everything in my power to keep you two apart now."

"I'm really not that intimidated by a salty dorito." I cross my arms right back, but he vanishes from my sight.

"You're gonna be, baby." His voice echoes, but he's gone from the area. I hear the front door open, and watch as Ford and Dipper head out into town together. My heart aches, just a bit.

And then I decide I need to talk to Stanley.

I make the coffee, full well knowing he'd be getting up in the next ten minutes anyways. He arrives at the table, a bit confused by the look on my face and the premade mug across from me.

"Something on your mind, kid?"

Ugh, the next person to call me that today...

"I need you to let me talk. And it's gonna be... pretty surprising, and maybe upsetting and I just need you to hear me out." I rub my temple for a moment before looking over to Stanley, who takes a sip of his coffee and shrugs.

"I don't make promises." He responds. Men.

"Fine." I scoff, putting my head in my hands for a moment. "Listen I... I might've. Definitely-- kissed your brother. A lot."

"Seriously, is age like, your secret kink or something?"

"I'm being serious, Stan! I kissed him-- a-and he kissed me back!" My hands clutch tightly to my mug as I stare down at the kitchen table.

"I mean, just because he kissed back, doesn't really mean he's interested in you. I doubt Ford's ever even kissed anyone so, he was probably just trying to enjoy--"

"We had sex, Stanley."

I shouldn't have said that. I definitely. Very much. Should not have said that.

Stan stands up slowly, placing his mug down. The look he has could brutally murder someone. "I'm going to kill him." He was definitely going to brutally murder someone.

"Stanley, could you please just listen to me?"

"He's twice your age, Katherine! He can't just-- just take advantage of you like that!"

"I wanted to!" I respond, but Stan starts to walk to the door. I throw myself in front of the frame and stop Stan in his tracks. "I like him, Stan. I really like him."

"He shouldn't be fooling around with a kid--"

"I'M NOT A KID!" I screamed, I can't believe I screamed. "When is that going to sink into your big stupid thick skull, Stanley? I'm an adult! I grew up! I drive a car, I lived on my own, I can drink for fuck's sake-- I'm not a kid anymore! I don't need to be babysat! I make my own choices!"

"... Katherine--"

"He treats me like a woman, Stanley. He's probably the only one who does, because you certainly never made an effort to. I like how he makes me feel. I like that he's intelligent and treats me like I'm intelligent. He doesn't look down on me, or feel the need to constantly monitor me. He doesn't call me 'kid', and he certainly doesn't see me as one!" My chest heaves a little, and I can't look at Stan anymore as my voice cracks. "I know I'm emotional, and I cry easily, and I am younger than you but.. I'm not a kid. He makes me feel brand new things that no one else has ever managed to make me feel-- It's not admiration, it's not just because he's the only thing I know, it's not because he's forcing me to feel it-- I l-"

Was I going to say it out loud? Like this?

"I love him, god dammit!" I suppose I was. "And I need that to be okay... because he won't bother if you aren't okay with it, and I can't deal with losing this, Stanley. I don't want to lose these feelings." I've collapsed onto the floor, resting on my knees but still blocking the doorway.

"Alright."

I have to look at him, to be sure that was actually his voice I heard. He lets out a sigh and kneels down to my level.

"Just as long as you stop crying. I can't handle you crying." Stan wraps his arms around my shoulders. "I can't tell you what's best for you... you're right, you aren't a kid anymore."

The sigh of relief that comes out of my lips makes my whole body shake, and I pull Stanley closer to me in a hug.

"That being said-- I can still kick the shit out of him if he makes you cry."

Typical.

"Deal."

"Mabel!" The sound of the front door slamming pulls us mostly apart. Dipper is shouting as he runs upstairs. Ford's boot's steps echo through the wooden floors as he walks through the house. He stops in his tracks as he sees us, me in tears on the floor, with Stan's arms around me.

I swear the look his ocean eyes gave me were enough to break me.

His face was bruised, his jacket singed by some sort of fire, and he had dirt all over him. What the hell did they do when they were gone?

The door slams again, and I can faintly hear Mabel crying as she runs off. Stanford takes a step past us, which causes Stanley to stand up.

"Stanford." Ford casts a glance over his shoulder. It's not a happy one. It's actually really intimidating. "We should talk."

Ford looks like he's going to respond, but then a scream pierces through the silence. I know what all of us are thinking-- Mabel.

We run outside to investigate, look for any sign of her-- but the wind outside is picking up, making it hard to see much of anything in the dirt it's kicking up. I raised a hand to shield my eyes from the wind, and what I see nearly has me falling to my knees again.

Bill Cipher. But bigger than when we met, and obviously causing chaos that I had no idea he was capable of. In the sky, a giant tear. Like..

Like a rift.

Like Stanford warned about.

Like I ignored.

The other dimensions can leak in now... and it was all my fault.

~-~-~-~-~-~


	19. Time To Get Weird

~-~-~-~-~-~

"Alright, listen up, you one-life-spanned three dimensional five sensed skin puppets! For one trillion years I've been trapped in my own decaying dimension, waiting for a new universe to call my own. The name's Bill, but you can call me your new lord and master for all eternity!"

"Shit," I hear Ford whisper. My head whips in his direction, and he's rather suddenly running back inside, Stanley and I hot on his tail. "We're going into the lab, we're grabbing the guns, and we're going to take that bastard down."

"I don't even understand, who--WHAT is that thing? Is that the muse, the one from your journals?"

"He's an inter-dimensional evil alien demon that won't be satisfied until everything you cherish about this world is gone." Ford shoves a gun into my hands and I feel my legs begin to shake. Dammit Ford, I'm a scientist, not a warrior.

The ground beneath us tremors harder than before, and as we run back outside, a large pyramid has risen from the center of town and floats in the air.

"This party never stops! Time is dead and meaning has no meaning! Existence is upside down and I REIGN SUPREME! Welcome, one and all, to Weirdmageddon!"

"I don't understand, this morning he-he just seemed like a harmless triangle-"

"What? You saw him this morning?!" Ford gets up in my face, his eyes glowering at me. "What did you do?"

"I didn't DO anything! He asked to make a deal, and I said no!"

"What? What was the deal?"

"I--"

"Did you shake his hand?"

"No!"

"DID YOU MAKE A DEAL WITH HIM, KATHERINE?"

"NO, GOD DAMMIT, I TOLD HIM I DIDN'T NEED HIS HELP." I shout, my voice cracking as I scream at Ford. He recoils, surprised by my outburst, but lets out a relieved sigh.

"Good." He rubs his temple. "The rift is shattered, Bill's world is spilling into ours and every minute, his powers grow stronger."

"Great uncle Ford..." Dipper slowly wobbles out from the Mystery Shack. "Mabel... I think the rift cracked inside her backpack. She might be in trouble-- I have to find her--"

"Dipper, listen to me-" Ford places a hand on his shoulder. "We can find your sister soon, but first we have to stop Bill. If we can blast him back into the rift we just might be able to stop him before his weirdness spreads across the entire globe."

"Are you sure defeating Bill is even possible?" Dipper asks, and I know Stanley and I are wondering the same thing.

"No, but..." Ford looks over to me for a moment before kneeling down to Dipper's level. "Being a hero means fighting back even when it seems impossible... Will you follow me?"

Dipper gets a fierce look on his face. "To the ends of the Earth."

I approach Ford and hold out a hand to help him up. "And across all of space and time."

"No matter what the cost." Stanley gives his brother a small smile.

"If we're going to do this-- Stanley, there's something I need you to do for me."

~-~-~-~-~-~

The top of the clock tower was eerily silent compared to the world outside that was going to hell. I wish I could say I was as brave and composed as Dipper and Ford were, but something about this wasn't sitting right with me. Too much could go wrong. Too much is going wrong.

If Ford misses his shot, Bill will know the plan, and god knows what he'll do to us when he gets his hands on us...

When he gets his hands on me.

"Stanford," I let out a shaky, scared whisper. I can tell Ford doesn't think he has the time to deal with this.

"Kat, please... not now." His voice is low, not wanting Dipper to get wrapped up in our affair.

"Ford, what if something goes wrong?" My scattered breath has Stanford placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Have some faith in me, Kat."

"You can't promise me that everything will turn out alright, you can't promise that you;ll be safe--"

"I can, and I will."

Those words echoed in me like he shouted them in an empty tunnel.

"I promise, Katherine."

It was so different from Stanley. So, SO different. Maybe that was my biggest problem. I always compared him to his brother, just like his brother always compared me to a child.

Ford was an independent entity from Stanley, and that's what made him so wonderful. It shouldn't have been at all surprising that I fell in love with him-- he was so much of a shock that my body didn't know how to react.

But right now-- in this moment, it's reaction was like instinct.

My hands reaching out, cupping him face, and slamming his lips down onto mine. We were in the empty tunnel, nothing but the sounds of our love filling the echoes. We reverberated through out all time and space, his words and my words like warm whispers or breezes caressing our skin. We created our tunnel song-- we became infinite in that moment. We were everything the books wrote about, every love song that ever poured from someone's speakers. We were perfect.

We were at the end of the world, and we were suddenly not caring about kissing in front of his nephew-- and that was perfect to me.

My breath hitched as we pulled apart, Ford giving me the best loving look he could before picking up his quantum gun off the floor.

"I've only got one chance to take this shot," Ford preps the gun in his hands, and I feel my body once again shiver in his magnificence. His steadies himself, and his breathing, taking aim at the pyramid demon across town.

The wave of weirdness that washed over the church was unexpected, and my scream certainly didn't help Stanford's control. He took a shot, on accident, and...

He missed.

"Well well well, and here I thought today couldn't get any better!" On his last word, Bill shoots a bright blue flame towards the clock tower we resided in. I push Ford and Dipper to the floor, the flames tearing up my back.

It hurt-- but it would've hurt them far more.

"Dipper, take my journals and RUN!" Ford throws his bag at his nephew, who retrieves them and bolts from the church.

"Good ol' six fingers. I've been waiting and eternity to have a chat face to face! And oh, if it isn't Kat the bat again, say kid, how's not taking my deal going for ya'?" Bill takes possession of Ford, raising him up into the sky. "Everyone, this Armageddon wouldn't be possible without help from our friend here, give him a six fingered hand! This brainiac is the one who built the portal in the first place." Bill places a hand on top of Ford to turn him around. "Don't look so down, Fordsy, it's not too late to join me! With that extra finger, you'd fit right in with my freaks!"

Ford looks down at his hands, and then back up to me. I must look terrified. I can't speak. I want to help. I don't know what's going on. I want him to say yes, just to keep himself safe. I want him to say no, because he's better than that. Mostly, I just want him to stay alive.

His brow furrows, and his fists clench.

"I'll die before I join you. I know your weakness, Bill."

"Oh yeah?" Bill giggles. "Well, I know a riddle! Why did the old man do this?"

"This?" Ford imitates the way Bill holds out his hands, and is then zapped by whatever strange magic Bill has. Ford falls to the ground, his body turned entirely into gold.

I didn't realize I was screaming until the vibrations in my throat started to sting.

"Aw, don't be so sad, Vampire Diaries! I just needed a new back scratcher!" Bill laughs at his own joke. "Listen kid, I think we got off on the wrong foot. Now you see who I really am, and who I roll with, I think you might finally understand that you'll fit in with us better than anyone else-- I mean, get all that red out of your system, and you could be the weirdest of the weird!"

God, not me, too.

"C'mon Katcula, whaddya say? Wanna get weird?"

My momentary silence was enough to draw Dipper out of hiding.

"Kat, no!" Dipper runs over to the scene. "Listen here Bill, you're gonna leave her alone-- and you're gonna give me back my uncle!"

"Dipper, you need to go back to the shack, NOW."

"Now isn't this INTERESTING?" Bill zeroes in on Dipper. "My old puppet is back for an encore! You think you can stop me? Go ahead, Pine Tree, show me what you got!"

"I... uh I..." Dipper nervously flips through the third journal, and I shake my head. There was nothing-- even I knew there was nothing.

"What do you got Pine Tree? Come on, everyone's waiting!"

Dipper jumps up, aiming to punch the pyramid right in his big stupid eye.

And then he's zapped back to the ground in an instant.

"You gotta learn kid, you can't be a hero." He holds up Ford's golden body. "This is what happens to heroes in my world."

And then he does the unthinkable. He burns the journals.

I couldn't even scream that time.

"Now where was I-- ah yes, What do you think, Twilight? Wanna get weird?"

I can see Dipper's fearful eyes on me. I let out a sigh.

"Let me say goodbye real quick-- While I still have my last bit of humanity."

"THATTA GIRL!" Bill's laugh echoes through the air as I approach Dipper, who's shaking his head.

"Dipper, I know you're mad-- please--just listen."

"Kat you can't!"

"Dipper-- If I don't go-- I don't know what will happen to Ford." He stops stammering at this. "I need you to go back to Stanley-- Ford asked him to round up some people at the Mystery Shack-- you're still safe there. Find your sister and get home safe." I look back at the group behind me. "I can't leave Ford alone with them. God only knows what they'll do to him.I have to stay with him Dipper, I.. I never even got to tell him that I..."

"But -- what will they do to you?" He whispers.

"Nothing I can't handle." I take a deep breath. "Don't listen to Bill, I know you're a hero. You just gotta go get your cape on first." I pat Dipper on the shoulder, and he gives me a small nod before running off into the woods. I turn back around to face Cipher and his gang.

"Anybody wanna remind me what we came here for?" Bill asks.

"To get weird." I respond.

"You got it, kid! Welcome to the ranking of higher beings, you're gonna fit right in!"

~-~-~-~-~-~


	20. Kataclysm

~-~-~-~-~-~

The weirdness parties were like the side of college I never got to experience. Some of the creatures were drinking uranium, some in multiple orifices. Some of the monsters played some form of volleyball with the statues of a human. There was a monster that was just a giant lava lamp in a bowler hat...

Everything was... weirder than weird.

And I was the one not fitting in-- because for once, I wasn't weird enough.

"Let's get a smile on that face kid, lemme do you a favor!" Bill's hand on my shoulder makes me flinch, and as he snaps his fingers, I feel my body lose control. I run to the side, vomiting profusely.

Every bit of red in my body was coming back out.

I wouldn't be normal for much longer.

The cheering of the monsters made the pulsing in my head much worse. There was no stench of red anywhere, nothing I could lock my lips around to bring me back. I was losing it, with no way out.

"Go nuts, guys! When we're done partying, I unveil phase two!"

"OPEN UP, THIS IS THE TIME POLICE."

Everyone gasps and the music very suddenly stops.

"Play it cool, play it cool!" Bill sweats a little. "Ditch the time punch! Let me do the talking."

The doors burst open and reveal a giant floating baby and a bunch of terminator looking cops.

I can't tell if I'm high from the vampire dna or if this is all really as fucked up as it seems.

"Bill Cipher, You are in violation of the rules of space time, and possessing the body of a time officer."

"Here this Cipher,"

"Ugh, Time Baby."

"If your rip in this dimension continues, it could destroy the very fabric of existence! Surrender now, or face my tantrum."

"Oh no, a tantrum, what ever will I do about tha--HOW ABOUT THIS!" And like it's nothing, he turns everyone to ash.

What the fuck did I get myself in to?

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

The thing about losing my humanity is that I lose all concept of time with it. I'm not sure how long I've been here-- I'm not sure how long this weird party has been going on.

All I know if that I'm barely a person anymore. I'm a wild, sensory overloaded, blood drinking monster. The only bit of me left to remind me what I'm here for is the part of my brain that reacts whenever Bill holds up what remains of Stanford.

I feel my body fight back a growl as I watch Bill raise a fork to clink against Ford's body, like he's proposing a god damned toast with the man I love.

"Ladies, Gentleman, that creature with like 87 different faces-- It's been fun turning Gravity Falls inside out, rounding up all it's terrified citizens, and then stacking them into this throne of human agony!" Cipher comes to rest on the chair made up of the citizens of Gravity Falls, I can feel the human part of my brain searching to make sure Stanley and the kids aren't a part of that mess. "Don't worry, they're not conscious, probably. Gravity Falls is just the beginning, it's time to take our chaos world wide! Alright boys, to the corners of the Earth! Set the world aflame with your weirdness! This dimension is ours!"

Bill's main gang take off into the sky in a hurry, only to be stopped abruptly and fall to the ground.

"WHAT?!" Bill floats out to the sky, lightly tapping the space where he watched his friends fall down, only to find he also cannot go beyond it's boundary. "Alright." Bill floats back down to the pyramid. "Can anybody explain to me why-- even with our INFINITE POWER-- None of us can escape the borders of THIS STUPID HICK TOWN!? There's some kind of force field keeping us in-- but who would know how to fix it?" Bill grabs at Ford again, and I feel a low growl in my throat. "Hmm, maybe someone needs to come out of retirement."

Bill and I make brief eye contact, and I can tell by the way his eye narrows that he's got a plan that will make me cringe.

"C'mon Carmilla, I'm gonna need you for this bit."

"Oh, another vampire pun, hilarious." I roll my eyes as I follow Bill into another room of his palace. The setting grossed me out just a little bit, it looked a lot like the kind of room a boss would take his intern into before sexually harassing her. There was a fire in the fireplace, an odd painting of Bill in a crown on the wall, the couches and carpet were sleek and red.

I was pretty freaked out. Please don't try to sleep with me, triangle man.

"Now you just stand there and look tortured, alright, fangs?"

"Tortured?"

Bill floats over and places Ford in the center of the room, disappearing into a wall afterwards. I can hear him snap, and I watch as the gold slowly fades off of Ford. I take a step to rush to his side, but the stench of the blood in his body overwhelms me.

"Let me go, you insane three sided--! W-what is this place?" His eyes come to rest on me, and I can tell by the way he stares that I must not look good. "Katherine?" He tries to step to me, only realizing now that chains have formed around his ankles. "What has he done to you? Your eyes... your teeth... My god, Katherine.."

And then, rising up from the floor, piano playing and chipper as ever-- Bill. "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when-- oh, I know we'll meet again some sunny day."

"Where am I?" Ford demands.

"The penthouse suite, kid! The tip of the pyramid! Have a drink, make yourself comfortable!"

"Quit the games Cipher-- if I'm still alive, you must want something from me."

"Ah, sharp as ever Fordsy. As you may have already realized, I've had a multi dimensional makeover. I can control space, matter, and now that the dumb baby is out of the way, time itself! But I wasn't always this way. You think those chains are tight? Imagine living in the second dimension, just flat minds in a flat world with flat dreams. I liberated my dimension, Stanford, and I'm here to liberate yours! There's just one hitch-- it seems my weirdness can't escape the magical confines of this town. There's something keeping me in."

"Incredible!" Ford whispers. My heart races. I can hear his blood rushing through his body. This is actually killing me. "Gravity Falls' natural law of weirdness magnetism. I studied this years ago."

"Did you find a way to get rid of it?"

"Of course, there's a simple equation that could collapse the barrier-- but I'd never help you!"

"Listen Ford, if you just tell me that equation, finally your dimension will be free. Anything will be possible! I'll remake a fun world, a better world. A party that never ends, with a host that never dies! You can be one of us, all powerful, and greater than anything you've ever imagined! All I need is your help!"

"You're insane if you think I'll help you."

"I'm insane either way-- but have it your way-- I'll just fish around your brain and get that equation directly out of your mind."

"I think you're forgetting the rules, Bill. you may be able to haunt my dreams, but you can't enter my mind unless I shake your hand and let you in."

Bill sighs, retrieving his martini glass and swirling it a bit. "You know, I didn't want it to have to come to this, but you've left me no choice. You want to do this the hard way? Fine-- I'll scorch this little vampire bat to her death bit by bit-- you can watch her burn knowing it was your fault, Fordsy. And to think she thought so highly of you that she was going to infiltrate my team and betray me to save you."

Wait. What?

WHAT?!

"Don't you lay a finger on her!"

"Oh, you see, that's a happy thought, eh Kataclysm? Maybe he did want to be together after all, maybe we really didn't need to make a deal-- but here's the thing-- YOU STILL SAID NO!" I feel something clamp around my ankles, and realize that I too have become chained to the floor. "I don't take rejection well, toots, so I'll stick to my word-- Everything in my power will be done to make sure you can never be with him."

"DON'T DO THIS, BILL."

"Give me the equation, Pointdexter, last chance."

"No!" I let out a cry, drawing my eyes to Ford. "I-I came here because I believe in you, Ford. You're so much more than the mistakes you've made, and I know you can fix this. Don't let me be the one to stop this. You're the part of history that will live on forever-- not me. The world needs you-- the hero." Bill snaps, and chains form around my wrists as well. My strength as a monster isn't enough to fight him, not when I lack so much red.

"This would be sweet if it wasn't so DISGUSTING-- Commence the burning!"

I feel it on my legs first. It's scorching. It's like my body is being pulled apart particle by particle.

"Katherine..." His voice comes out in shakes, and I manage to draw my eyes up to him, fighting back the pain. He looks down at the floor, like he's gesturing with his eyes. It takes me a minute, but I get it. Finally. How could I have not noticed before?

I take the last of my strength and direct it to my left arm.

"Let me make this one quicker for you, Cipher." With every bit left in me, I rip my arm from his shackle, diving my fist into my chest, grabbing at my heart.

"WOAH-HO! TALK ABOUT A FREAK, Guess the hard part's done already!"

He snaps, the chains releasing my ankles and other arm.

Idiot.

I hit the floor, my face falling onto the carpet.

"Well, how's that gonna weigh on your chest, Fordsy?"

"I'm actually pretty proud of that one."

"--Pardon me?"

"Yeah, see, us intellectuals can catch on to ideas pretty quickly-- see, I studied Vampires for quite a long time, and honestly, the one thing I don't think I'd ever do, if my goal is to kill a vampire-- is put her in a room with red carpets."

"WHAT?!"

I push myself up with my hands, the red flowing through my body and rapidly healing the burns on my legs. I'd give a victory smirk, but the castle is shaking as the doors are yet again busted open.

"I JUST FIXED THAT DOOR!"

"IT'S THE SHACKTRON, DUDE!"

I had never been so happy to hear Soos' voice.

"So the mortals are trying to fight back, huh? Adorable-- Henchmaniacs, you know what to do!" Bill turns rather suddenly. "AND YOU TWO-- Stay right there, I'm not finished with you yet."

As Bill exits the Pyramid, I rush to Ford's side.

"Katherine, are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Ford reaches up with his shackled arms and I give him my best smile.

"You're a genius, Stanford. I'm fine." I rip off the chains from his arm, shattering them out of existence. "I was losing myself for a while there, but... every time I thought I would, I'd see you-- and I'd be reminded that I had to keep fighting."

"You're incredibly sentimental today, but I appreciate it none the less."

"You've been a statue for four days, alright? It's hard not to get emotional now that I can kiss you again." I give a small pout and Stanford chuckles with a raised eyebrow.

"Great uncle Ford?! Kat?!"

"Was that Mabel?"

"Definitely."

ford and I walk out to the main hall, where the kids, Stanley, Soos, Wendy, Mcgucket, and some other townsfolk stare in horror at the throne of human agony.

"Kids! You did it! I knew I could count on you two!" Ford scoops up Dipper and Mabel into his arms. I take a deep breath and approach Stanley, who gives me a small smile.

"You look like hell." He jokes.

"I am in it, after all." Stanley wraps an arm around me and chuckles, and I watch as Mcgucket approaches Ford.

"Fiddleford. I-I haven't seen you since we parted ways... you must hate me."

"Well... I've tried forgettin'... maybe I should try forgivin'." The two share an embrace and I can tell by the look on Ford's face that it cleared his mind of some heavy baggage.

"Good to see you, too, bro. Now let's get out of here."

"Listen, Ford, we don't have a lot of time. Remember how you told me you knew Ford's weakness? We could use that right about now!"

"I do! Hm.." Ford takes out his leather gloves, and apparently I make a verbal moan and not just one in my head, because Stanley shoves me out of his arms. "I need a pen... oh, spraypaint, that will work." He begins spray painting the floor, and the nerd in me is convinced we're about to do some alchemy.

"Drawing a circle on the floor-- Yup, he's lost his mind."

"My mind is fine-- there's a way to beat him-- With this." Stanford quickly draws some symbols in the circle. "A prophecy. Many years ago I found ten symbols in a gave, some I recognized, some I didn't. The people phrophesized that these symbols could create a force strong enough to vanquish Bill. His weirdness would be banished and the whole town would be saved, this whole time I thought it was just superstition, but seeing you all here now I understand that it's destiny. Dipper, the pine tree. Mabel, the shooting star. Katherine--"

"Yeah yeah, I'm the bat... " I sigh and step onto the spot on the circle.

"I need everyone to hold hands. This is a mystical human energy circuit." I smile as I grab on to Ford's hand, trying to imagine I didn't have to hold a teenage boy's hand with the other.

"But whose the ice?"

"Not always literal-- just someone who's cool in the face of danger."

"Wendy."

"Definitely Wendy."

"I think it's working!"

"Everyone else should leave, it's too dangerous to stay here! We just need one more person... Stanley, get over here, you're the only one left!"

"You realize that this is a bunch of hogwash, right? You really think some caveman graffiti is really gonna stop that monster?"

"DAMMIT STANLEY, IF YOU DO NOT STEP INTO THIS CIRCLE SO HELP ME GOD I WILL DRAIN YOUR ENTIRE BODY OF IT'S BLOOD AND DONATE YOUR ORGANS TO SCIENCE!"

"No, NOT CHARITY! Fine fine, I'll do your stupid voodoo. Jeez, I'm not the bad guy here, let's not forget who literally created the end of the world."

"I know, Stanley, please... Help me fix it." Stanford begs, and I feel my heart swell. They've never reached out to each other like this, please god let them fix it.

"Just do one thing. Say thank you."

"What?"

"I spent thirty years trying to bring you back into this dimension, and you still haven't thanked me! You want me to shake your hand, then say thank you."

"Fine, thank you." Ford gains an annoyed look and Stanley grabs his hand, still rambling like an ass.

"See, between me and him I'm not always the bad twin."

"Between him and me." Stanford corrects, and I quickly elbow him in the side.

"shutthefuckupfordddd."

"Grammar, Stanley."

"I'll grammar Stanley you, you stuck up old grouch!" I let out a groan as they start to fist fight. This was never going to work.

"Oh no, it's Bill! Right, that's what you're all thinking? This is just perfect-- Didn't you brainiacs know that the zodiac doesn't work unless you all hold hands? And what's better, you've brought every threat to my power into one easy to destroy circle." Bill reaches out and grabs Stanley and Stanford, constricting their movement with his arms. "You guys wanna see what happens when you can't get along?"

"We're not scared of you, Cipher!" Wendy shouts.

"You should be." Bill gets a dark look in his eyes, snapping his fingers. I watch as nearly everyone in the room is lifted up into the air. "You know, this castle could really use some decorations!" and turned each one into a hanging tapestry. I reach out, grabbing Dipper and Mabel by the hand. "Looks like it's too late for your friends, Stanford. But you can still save your family." A cage starts to form around me and the twins and I pull them closer to me. "Last chance, help me make weirdmageddon global and I'll spare them."

"DON'T DO IT, BILL MAKES BAD DEALS!" Mabel shouts.

"Don't you toy with me, shooting star. I see everything!"

Mabel boredly reaches up and uses the spray paint on Cipher's eye.

"Nice shot, pumpkin!" Stanley shouts. Cipher loses his grip on Stanley and Ford and the cage around us falls down.

"I KNOW that hurts because I've accidentally done it to myself! Multiple times!" Mabel proudly stands and I gently pat her head. Not exactly a victory cry, kiddo.

"Katherine, make sure Grunkle Stan and Ford get out of here safe."

"We're gonna take on Bill. We've done it before, and we'll do it again."

"What?! No, it's too dangerous!"

"COME AT ME, YOU POINTY JERK!" Mabel cries, running down a hall of the pyramid. I change into a bat and tuck into the shadows before Bill stops rubbing his eyes.

"You two stay here, I've got some children I need to make into corpses!" Bill throws Stan and Ford into the same prison before chasing after the kids. I change back and hustle over to Ford and Stan, both distraught with worry for the kids.

"Listen, I know you're freaking out right now, but those kids are more brave and more capable than all of us combined. They're going to be okay."

"No, you listen to me, Kat. If you care about this family-- honestly truly care and want to be part of it like you told me-- you go and make sure those kids are safe. You're the only one strong enough to actually protect them." Stanley has a stern look on his face, and I feel my eyes water up a bit.

I knew what he was asking me to do.

Being brave enough to do it is the hard part.

"I've the only one who's been beside you from the start, Stanley. Are you sure that's the last thing you want to say to me? After already living a life full of remorse-- is that really how you want to leave things between us? Because a portal won't bring me back, Stanley."

"You're not going Kat, quit this nonsen--"

"You're the only one I've been able to trust from the beginning. That's why I need you to do this right now."

"Should I make you say thank you, too?"

Stan flinches a bit at this. If I'd be leaving this world, you better damn well let me leave knowing these two would make up.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me, Kat. You're the most capable, most amazing, most intelligent woman I know. That's.. that's why I know you're going to make it back okay. Because-- Because I'm okay with you and Stanford being together, and I know that you wouldn't let yourself die without telling him the truth, okay? So, you're gonna make me a promise right here that you're gonna save my niece and nephew and then Stanford everything."

"Everything about what? Katherine, please, I can't have you go chasing after Bill, too." Stanford pleads with me, his blue eyes brimming over as he looks at me from his triangular prison. I take a deep breath. I needed to make sure those kids were okay, because this family is the family I've always dreamed about.

"Sorry Stanley," I roll my neck, getting a satisfying pop as it cracks. "I don't make promises I can't keep."

I take off down the hallway, ignoring Stanford's screams as I chase down the trail Bill has left.

There isn't much I can do besides be a distraction to help the kids escape. I'm just running towards my own death.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~


	21. Finale

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

"When I get my hands on you kids, I'm going to disassemble your molecules!" I gasp as Bill spots me behind him, quickly grabbing me, and then right after, the kids, in one easy swoop.

"Alright, Ford, Time's up! I got your family, and your precious little girlfriend!"

I head Mabel gasp. "Girlfriend?! YES!"

"NOT NOW, MABEL!"

"Which one should I kill first?"

"WAIT!" I look down, and Ford glares at Bill. "I surrender."

"Good choice." Bill cackles, throwing us all down onto the ground.

"NO!" I shout, pulling myself up as fast as I can.

"STAY DOWN, BATGIRL!" Bill quickly zaps me and I scream in frustration.

"Don't do it, it will destroy the universe!"

"It's the only way!"

"Even when you're about to die, you Pines' twins just cant get along." Bill removes the cage around them with a cackle.

"My only condition, is that you let my brother, Kat, and the kids go."

"Fine."

"NO, Ford please, don't trust him!"

"Don't do it!"

"It's a deal!"

My heart stops as I watch Ford reach his hand out to Bill, shaking it like he didn't just surrender his life.

"NO!" I scream, dashing up to Ford as he falls to the floor. "No, no no no please. Please," I feel my chest heave. Stanley grabs me and pulls me back, pulling out the memory gun from his jacket. "NO! If you erase his mind-- He-- he won't remember-- I . He . He'll never know, I'll never get to tell him--"

"What are you doing, Grunkle Stan?!"

"You can't do this, he doesn't know how I feel!" I fall to the floor, burying my face in my hands. "I never told him, I never got a chance to say it. I can't lose him now..."

"Tell him now." Stanley holds the gun up. "Quickly."

I let out a heavy sob.

"I love.. I love you, Stanford. So much..."

The blast from the memory gun has me screaming again, my fists digging so tightly into the floor that I'm breaking up the stone.

"Katherine. Katherine, look at me."

I pull away from the hand that grabs my chin.

"Dammit Kat, open your eyes." I feel a hand on either side of my face and when I open my eyes, Ford's in front of me... totally fine.

In Stanley's suit.

... which... means that--

"Grunkle Stan, you did it!" Mabel runs up and tightly embraces Stanley, who's kneeling in the grass. All of weirdmageddon is fading away around us.

"Oh, uh.. Hey there, Kiddo... What's your name?"

"..G-grunkle Stan? Cmon... it's me, Grunkle Stan."

"I'm so sorry, everyone... We.. we had to erase his mind to defeat Bill. He has no idea, but.. he did it. He saved the world. He saved me." Ford kneels down and places a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You're our hero, Stanley." He embraces his brother and I kneel down to bring the kids into my arms, trying to shield them from my own emotional trauma.

My Stanley, my babysitter, my best friend-- he was gone. His memories of me, the memories we shared together so long ago, and even up until now, this past summer-- they're gone.

"Let's go find the shack," I whisper, patting the kids on the head. "We all need some rest."

The shack is back where it belongs, in theory, but it's ripping at the seams.

"This is a real nice place you got here."

"It's your place, Grunkle Stan." Dipper responds, a frown on his lips.

"Don't you remember, even a little?"

Stanley walks over and takes a spot on the chair-- his chair, as it had become known-- and shrugs. "Nope, but this chair hugs my butt like it remembers." He relaxes with a sigh. "Hey, why the long faces, you guys look like it's someone's funeral! Who's that big guy crying in the corner?"

"Okay, that's it. There has to be something in this shack that can jog his memory!" Mabel frantically searches the room, deciding her scrapbook is the best thing she can find to bring back her Grunkle. "This will work! It has to!" She climbs up onto the chair beside Stan and flips open her photo album. As she goes through memories, Stanley looks more and more distraught.

"The time we went finishing, summerween, when we discovered dinosaurs under the town?"

"The time Kat kissed you and you totally rejected her and she got lost in the woods and became a vampire?!"

"Yeah, you know Mabel, we could've gone without anyone remembering that one." I narrow my eyes at the girl.

"I'm sorry, I just. I don't know what this is, or who you are--"

Very suddenly, Waddles comes running into the room, desperately licking at Stanley's face.

"UGH! Quit it, Waddles, I'm trying to remember my life story!"

"What did you just say?"

"I said GET WADDLES OFF OF ME!"

"My god," Ford smiles at his niece. "It's working!"

I take a deep breath, Stan would remember everything from the summer but... how would he remember me?

Maybe I needed to put on some Billy Joel.

~-~-~-~-~-~

With the combined patents and fortunes of Fiddleford and Stanford, the shack was able to be rebuilt, bigger and better than ever. I guess it can't really be called a 'shack' anymore.

Today was the last day of summer, the day Dipper and Mable would get on a bus at the end and head back to California. It hurt a bit to think about, but all we could do is try to remain positive so that the kids had a great last day in the town.

I let out a soft sigh as I slid my hands down my mint colored dress. The girl in the mirror had been though a lot-- but look at where we are now.

No identity crisis, no confusion, no immanent danger.

I'm safe, and I'm happy.

"Pardon, Katherine, are you up?"

"Yeah, come on in."

I turn and offer Ford a smile as he steps into the bedroom we've shared.

"I was hoping we could spare a moment to talk." I look him up and down, enjoying the dark blue dress shirt he decided to dress in.

"You can have several moments." I wiggle my brows, earning a raised eyebrow from Stanford.

"I'm being serious, Kat."

"Oh fine, go ahead." I sigh and take a seat on my bed, trying to calm my heart a bit when Stanford takes a seat beside me.

"We.. haven't really had time to talk about everything. About how you're feeling, if you're okay... I know things got heavy for a little bit trying to bring back Stanley's memory, I never asked how you were taking it all." He rubs the back of his neck and I let out a breath.

"Well, I mean, it was tough at first, but Stanley seems back to his old self now... The kids are happy, you're happy... I don't think I could ask for much else. Everyone's safe. That wasn't how we thought this was going to turn out."

"I thought for sure I was going to lose you when you ran after Bill," I cast my eyes up at Ford's, who looks a bit like a dejected puppy.

"I didn't mean to make you worry... I just. I was scared I'd lose you, a-and then I actually did for a moment-- and I-"

"You said you loved me."

".. yeah."

"Was that..."

"Yeah."

Ford gives a small nod and looks at the floor, letting out a deep sigh. Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for, but I figured after not talking about it for days that the answer was probably something like this.

"You know, I spent a long time jumping from dimension to dimension... I spent a long time seeing things that amazed me, spectacular things that I could never even dream of. I saw kingdoms made of crystals, species that glowed brightly in the dark, and artwork from civilizations that I cant even begin to accurately speak of their wonder..."

Did he... want to go back into the portal? Is that what this was about?

"But none of it, not one damn dimension, has managed to evoke as much emotion and absolute splendor out of me as you do, Katherine Bishop."

"I... w-what?"

"You are easily, hands down, the most radiant, compassionate, beautiful thing in the whole of creation-- of every world, or every dimension, in every time." He reaches out, grabbing my hands from my lap and holding them tightly in his. "And I simply can not bear the thought of having to pretend like that isn't the god given truth any longer."

"Grunkle Ford, we're about to start-- oops, am I interrupting something? I'm definitely interrupting something." Mabel slowly starts to back out of the door way, and Ford gives his niece a smile.

"No no, Mabel that's alright, I think you'll want to be here for this part." Ford rubs the tops of my hands with his thumbs, sliding off the bed and kneeling onto the floor.

Mabel lets out an outrageously loud gasp in the doorway, beckoning Stanley, Dipper, and Soos to come see what the fuss was.

"Katherine, could you do me the honor of accepting my hand in marriage?"

"Oh.my.god." Mabel furiously grabs her brother's shirt color to contain her shaking hands. I let out a small giggle at that, and also out of my pure nervousness and shock at the question. Was this real? Really real?

The small velvet box Ford is pulling from his pocket is showing me that this is indeed, very very real.

Did I deserve this? This wonderful, beautiful family-- in my life?

"This is better than my fanfiction!" Soos cries.

"C'mon you dork, we know you're gonna say yes anyways, stop trying to calculate everything." Stanley crosses his arms and smirks at me, and I let out the breath I had been holding, looking back down at the smiling, obviously nervous, wreck of a man kneeling before me.

"Yeah, of course I'm gonna say yes." I let out a light laugh as Ford clutches at his heart. "I love you, Stanford..."

"NEW PINES INITIATION!" Mabel screams, running towards me at full speed. Dipper joins his sister, the two jumping and clinging to me like koala bears, knocking me onto the bed. They hug me in between giggles and finally Stan comes to scoop them of the bed.

"We'll give you two a minute. But like, only a minute-- because there's cake, and I don't know how long I can contain Waddles from eating it." Stanley closes the door behind him and the twins and I sit up, only to come face to face with Ford. I let out a laugh as he pushes me back down onto the bed, kissing me feverishly.

"You haven't even put the ring on me yet!" I laugh as his hands trace up my sides. He brings his lips down to my neck.

"What's the point if I'm going to take everything off you?" He whispers lowly into my ear. I shiver, but put my hand on his chest.

"Stanford, it's their birthday party, we can at least wait until it's over."

"Hardly." He smirks and I shake my head.

"Damn, what did I do to earn all this wonderful attention?" Ford places soft kisses all around my face.

"I believe it was agreeing to spend the rest of your life with me."

"Hm, that theory sounds correct. I guess I did do that." Ford stops, gently rubbing his nose against mine.

"I want to spend my life making you happy."

"You already do," I pull him down onto my lips, fighting the smile that wants to separate us. "Every minute of every hour. Every time you look at me, or say my name, or get excited about something. When you put on your gloves, when you start postulating a theory, when you stare into your coffee mug while calculating things in your head. When you lift up your hands on to piano keys and play me lonely little duets-- I couldn't be happier. You make my heart swell."

"You've perplexed me from the moment we met. Enjoying and looking up to my research, alphabetically organizing my books, singing sweetly along to melodies. I cant help how enchanted I am by you, and I want to do everything I can to make your life wonderful."

"Who's getting incredibly sentimental now, hm?" I tease, and Ford shakes his head with a chuckle.

"I'm going to wipe that little smirk right off your face." He threatens, leaping back at my neck.

"Stanford! Jesus, after the party!"

~-~-~-~-~-~

I had always felt like I was missing something. Sure, high school went fine, and college was accessible through scholarships and grants... but it was never fulfilling.

I've always been more interested in anomalies, in enigmas-- anything that's barely there long enough to make a physical impact, but drives the human mind wild with mystery. Stanley Pines was my first mystery. He came into my life like a hurricane, or rather-- I came into his.

The second anomaly, the anomaly that chose to stick around instead, the one that swept me off my feet, his name is Stanford Pines, and he's the most brilliant man I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, of loving, and of getting to call my own.

Both of these lovely anomalies are my life now, sailing across the seas from fall to spring, only to anchor and come back to Gravity Falls, Oregon every summer and spend it with my brand new family. That feeling like I'm missing something-- that's the real anomaly now. Every since I came to Gravity Falls, that feeling's vanished from my heart for good.

I'm home, I'm happy, and I'm fulfilled.


End file.
